Between Darkness and Light
by ozzypoos
Summary: An epic adventure of friendship, love, magic and gods. When a professional thief and a silent archer discover an unconscious boy and decide to help him, they didn't know that in doing so they held the fate of the world in their hands. 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4
1. Dark Savior

Title: Between Darkness and Light - Dark Savior  
Pairings: 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4, H+2, R+1, M+5, 13+6, past 6+9  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the stories all mine   
Warnings: Shounen Ai, slight OOC, some violence   
  
  
A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed: Heero's 15, Duo's 18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18   
and Wufei's 16.  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~ = Change of scene  
  
  
  
  
  
A large oak door softly creaked open as a young teenager with raven hair tied back in a tight pony tail and onyx eyes, stuck   
his head through the opening and carefully peered into the quiet study room. His eyes easily dismissed the large walls of   
books and parchments as they search for their target. Across the other side of the room sitting quietly while reading an old   
looking tome, sat another young teenager. This one had short messy chocolate coloured hair, and the most vibrant Prussian   
blue eyes anyone had ever seen before. Smiling slightly to himself, the raven haired teen silently stepped into the room and   
quietly made his was over to the oblivious boy. Just as he crept up behind the studying teen, he was startled when he heard a   
quiet but firm greeting "Wufei" Quickly getting over his surprise, Wufei walked around to the other side of the large wooden  
table and took a seat opposite to the blue eyed boy. As he did this he politely said "Yuy" Just as he saw intense blue eyes   
finally leave the tome in his hands and acknowledged his companion before him.  
  
Knowing that Heero wouldn't break the silence, Wufei carefully asked while he looked at the different tomes and parchments on  
the table "So.....where is J this afternoon?" For a few moments of silence followed as Heero just looked at Wufei with an   
emotionless face, after a few minutes Heero carefully closed the tome he was reading as he replied "There was a matter that  
needed his attention within the temple" Mentally sighing in relief, Wufei turned his attention to the tome that his friend  
had been reading. He frowned slightly when he realized that the title was written in a language unknown to him. Onyx eyes   
met once again with Prussian as Wufei asked "What were you reading?" Heero smirked slightly, and in an amused voice he  
teasingly said "Are you trying to tell me, that the great Wufei is unable to read?" With his face turning bright red from   
embarrassment and annoyance, Wufei slightly narrowed his eyes as he shouted "Injustice Yuy! Wipe that smirk of your face   
before I do it for you!"  
  
Ignoring his friend's outburst, Heero's face lost the smirk and the humour in his voice as he seriously said "Just some old  
tome that J and the other priests found while they were cleaning out some unused rooms" That got Wufei's interest as he   
reached out for the old tome and carefully looked through it. He found that the words within the old yellow pages were   
written in the same unknown language. While he was turning the pages one by one, Wufei quietly asked "What is written in it?"  
Lowering his blue eyes so that they were focused on the old tome, Heero answered "History about the Gods and each of their   
purposes basically, though it does centre mainly around the Goddess of Life Jurei" Looking up from the tome when Heero   
mentioned the name Jurei, Wufei raised a delicate eyebrow as he asked "And what did you find out?" Shrugging his shoulders,   
Heero's attention turned to the large window on the other side of the room as he replied "Nothing that I haven't already   
known or learnt about before, but I am still only a quater of the way through it"   
  
Seeing the longing look in the others eyes, Wufei looked over to see what had gotten the stoic boys attention. Wufei sighed   
to himself when he saw that Heero was looking out the window which over looked the palace gardens. Turning his attention   
back to the boy he secretly care much for, Wufei quietly asked "When was the last time you got some time to yourself Heero?"   
Not expecting that question, Heero looked at Wufei in shock before he quickly replaced it with his usual impassive mask.   
Seeing the blue eyed boy thinking the question over, Wufei just sat there and waited patiently for his answer.   
  
A few moments passed in silence before Heero finally gave his quiet answer "Six...maybe seven months" With his eyes almost   
bulging out of his head, Wufei stood up as he yelled "Seven months!?! That is injustice Yuy and you know it!" With a look of  
determination in his dark eyes, Wufei spoke in a tone that held no arguments in it "Then the rest of your day will be spent  
with me Yuy, and I will NOT take no for an answer" Seeing that Heero was about to refuse his offer, Wufei's hard look   
softened as he sincerely said "Heero, even you need some time to yourself once in a while. I know that you have your  
responsibilities to the temple, but so do I and I always take the time each day to do something that I want to do. J can  
do without you for one day Yuy, plus you did say that he was busy with matters of the temple so he may not even notice your  
absence" The Prussian eyed boy hesitated for some moments before he bowed his head in defeat and quietly said "Fine...but  
only for a few hours" Happy with his friends answer, Wufei offered his hand when he stood as he said "Shall we leave then?"  
Rolling his eyes, Heero ignored the offered hand and placed the tomes and parchments back in their respected places. Walking  
back over to the large wooden chair he was sitting in before, Heero picked up the white cloak that was folded over the arm.  
Placing it over his shoulders Heero nodded that he was ready, and then followed Wufei out of the room.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
The pair slowly made their way down one of the large hallways inside the palace Enlizer. Large opened windows covered the  
wall on the right side of the hallway, while the left was filled with various paintings of the royal family and blue  
tapestries that were lined with gold trimmings. As the two friends were about to round a corner, someone came around and   
ran right into Heero knocking the boy off his feet. Instantly Wufei withdrew his katana and pointed his weapon at the   
offender, while he took up a protective stance in front of his fallen friend.   
  
The man was shocked when the found the tip of a katana was pointed at his throat, and stumbled back a few steps. With all his  
attentions on the sharp blade, the rough looking man slowly looked up at the boy holding the weapon. A small gasp escaped   
his lips when he saw the mark of the dragon imprinted on the raven haired boys forehead.  
  
Wufei took the time to access the man while he heard Heero slowly getting up to his feet. The man had short dark brown hair  
and eyes, the large build of the man made Wufei think him to be some sort of sailor. Narrowing his onyx eyes dangerously,   
Wufei spoke in a deadly calm voice "What is your name?" The brown haired man seemed to get over his shock, then a moment   
later he stuttered out "Muller sir" Voice still calm, Wufei lowered his katana slightly, in a hope to get the man to relax   
slightly as he said "What are you doing in this part of the palace? Only members of the Royal Family and the temple priests   
are allowed access, save the palace guards" Looking a little nervous, Muller answered "I got separated from my other ship   
mates just after we arrived at the palace. We came here with Duke Noventa to discus trade agreements with Royal Family" Sweat  
began to fall down Mullers face as he looked into the intense eyes of Wufei's, and just when he was about to speak again   
another voice came from behind the raven haired boy "Let it be Wufei, there was no harm done" Out stepped the Prussian eyed   
boy, as he straightened out his cloak. Mullers eyes widened slightly when he saw the mark of the Goddess of Life on the   
Prussian eyed boy's forehead. Wufei lowered his weapon but made no move to put it away, there was just something about the   
man that put the Chinese boy on edge. Looking just past the man Wufei saw two guards walking towards them, he motioned them   
to come over then gave the guards the order to escort Muller back to his men.  
  
After the guard escorted the lost man away, Wufei turned around to face his quiet friend. Seeing the blue flame mark upon his  
forehead was showing, Wufei raised his hand and gently arranged Heero's bangs so that they covered the mark. "Do you ever   
tire of who you are Wufei?" Shocked by the sudden question, Wufei's hand froze a second before he lowered it from Heero's   
hair. Looking deeply into his friends eyes he found hidden deep within them a small amount of loneliness and resentment.   
Choosing his words carefully, Wufei answered "I have been born with the responsibility of the Dragon Clan, I will always   
feel nothing but honoured to be given such a role....are you trying to tell me Yuy, that you are not content with the path   
laid before you?" Looking away, Heero didn't respond to that question and Wufei never expected him to either. Sighing loudly,  
Wufei gently grabbed Heero's chin forcing the blue eyed boy to look at him "Heero I know how you feel, I was born with the   
mark of the Dragon God Shenlong while you were born with the mark of none other than Jurei the Goddess of Life" Moving his   
hand to cup the boy's cheek, Wufei softly caressed with his thumb as he continued "We have both been born into a life that   
no matter how hard we try, we can not hide from. Yes most people fear who we are, and I must admit they tend to fear you a   
lot more then they do myself. It is only because of the God you represent Yuy, that this is so. Do not dwell on these matters  
for too long, for I certainly do not fear you. Neither do the Royal family or the temple priests. The palace citizens do not   
understand our power that is why they tend fear us, I doubt that they ever will understand either" Sensing that his friend   
was deep in thought, Wufei decided to change the subject "Let us head outside, the sun should be setting soon and we should   
be able to watch from the palace gardens if you like?" Heero broke out of his thoughts just long enough to nod to Wufei,   
before the pair walked in silence to the gardens.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
It was late in the evening and out in the quiet palace gardens, two boys lay on the grass looking up into the endless starry  
sky. They were both enjoying the comfortable silence, when the beating of wings could be heard. Wufei lazily opened one onyx  
eye when he felt something nudging his right arm. Looking over at the offender, he was not surprised to see a pair of   
gleaming red eyes that were embedded in a head the shape of an alligator. The creature was covered with dark green scales,   
and had a long neck and tail. A pair of large wings were folded against the tiny dragons body, as it sat back and waited for   
its master to speak.   
  
Annoyed at being disturbed, Wufei grudgingly sat up as he said "Bothersome dragon....always wants something when I'm relaxing.  
What do you want Nataku?" Almost rolling its red eyes, the small dragon hissed its answer as Wufei carefully listen to what   
it had to say. Rubbing the bridge of his nose as he sighed, Wufei said "Thankyou, he will be there soon" The green dragon   
then spread its large wings and took off into the sky. Hearing the exchange, Heero sat up and looked at Wufei as he said "I'm  
gathering J noticed my absence?" Snorting loudly Wufei got to his feet as he said "Yes, we should be heading back anyway" As   
Heero walked passed Wufei, the blue eyed boy quietly said "Thankyou" Before disappearing back into the palace. Wufei just   
stood there for a while after Heero left, then just before he also made his way back to the palace he whispered quietly to   
himself "Anytime Yuy.....anytime"  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Closing the large wooden door behind him as quietly as possible, Heero quickly made his way passed all of the praying priests  
to the large crystal statue of the Goddess of Life. Quickly paying his respects to the statue, Heero continued on through to   
the back of the temples praying area to the study rooms behind. Standing before a large oak desk, Heero waited patiently for  
the old man sitting behind it to finish his task.   
  
A few minutes passed by in total silence, before the sounds of the old tome closing was heard. Placing the tome on the desk,   
the old man stood up and looked down at the young teen with disapproval and disappointment in his eyes. J walked around the   
large desk to come face to face with Heero, sighing he said "I am disappointed in you Heero, this is a crucial time for all   
of us and not one of us has the time to waste" His hard gaze then softened as he continued "The least you could have done was  
have an escort with you, what if something had happened?" Use to the same old lectures, Heero rolled his eyes as he said   
"Nothing happened, plus I do know how to defend myself. Besides I was not alone, Wufei was with me" The old priest sighed   
again as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration "Heero you are not only important to this temple and the palace,   
but over the years I have come to think of you as my own grandchild. Taking unnecessary risks is not acceptable of someone   
in your position, the palace and temple would be in an uproar if something ever happen to you" A hand came down to clasp   
gently on Heero's shoulder as J said "I know that ever since we found all of those ancient scrolls and tomes we have been   
working you to the bone, but that is because you are the only person who is able to read the majority of them. At least the   
next time you decide to take a break from your studies, it would be nice for you to inform me" Heero looked deep within the   
old priest's eyes and saw his concern and worry hidden deep within them, feeling a little guilty Heero nodded his head as he   
quietly said "Fine"   
  
J walked back around the large oak desk and carefully picked up a well worn scroll before he handed it over to Heero without  
saying a word. Heero looked at J for a minute in confusion, then carefully unrolled the old scroll and read what was in it.   
Heero's face paled when he finished reading what was written there, then silently he rolled it back up and placed it back   
onto the desk. Both were quiet for a few minutes, Heero too shocked to speak while J just stood there and watched Heero's   
reaction to what he had found. Knowing that the Prussian eyed youth would not be the first one to speak, J cleared his throat  
before he said "So I didn't just translate it wrong then?" Snapping out of his shock, Heero narrowed his eyes as he demanded   
"How many know of this?" "Only I know of this...and yourself of course" Heero's tense body seemed to relax at J's answer as   
he replied "Good, I want it kept that way. No other must know of this, not even any of the other priests. I don't even want   
to imagine what would happen if word of this got out" Agreeing with the blue eyed boy, J bowed slightly as he answered "Your   
will Jurei.....but this news is rather unsettling to say the least. What are you thoughts on the matter?" Walking over to the   
door, Heero looked over his shoulder just before he left and said "When I've had rest, I will think more on the matter. In   
the meantime I want that scroll destroyed, I do not want the risk of one of the other priests accidentally stumbling upon it"  
Not waiting for a reply, Heero opened the door and left the old priest alone with his thoughts. Looking down at the innocent   
looking scroll before him, J picked it up then walked over to the fire place and threw the scroll in. As he watched the fire   
eat through the old paper, the old priest sighed as he quietly said to himself "Let us pray though that this document was   
false"  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Returning to his resting chambers, Heero suddenly felt exhausted and decided to turn in for the night. Pushing all thoughts   
to the back of his mind Heero was just about to remove his white cloak, when he sensed that something wasn't right. He   
quickly spun around and his eyes widened in fear when he saw three large men standing right in front of him. Heero quickly   
pushed aside his fears as he growled out "Leave at once, and I shall not have you thrown in the dungeon for entering my   
sleeping chambers without permission" Hearing someone chuckle behind him, Heero turned around once more to find two more men   
standing there in the shadows. The large man on the left took a step forward as he said "We will leave alright, but you're   
coming with us" The five men then rushed in to restrain the boy, but to their surprise he began to fight back.  
  
Using the fighting skills he had learnt while training with Wufei and Master O, Heero leapt up into the air and did a round   
house kick. All of his attackers fell down from the attack, Heero landed in a crouched position then quickly jumped to the  
first man in sight and began throwing a few punches. Slamming his fist into one of his opponents jaw, Heero managed to knock   
the man out cold. The other attackers slowly got up to their feet all surprised at the boys strength, then all at once they   
rushed the boy and began throwing their own punches his way.   
  
Unnoticed by Heero the man that had spoken to him before hand, was quietly making his way behind the blue eyed boy at this   
moment. Raising his hand, the stray attacker brought it down as hard as he could over the back of Heero's head, sending the  
Prussian eyed boy into the dark realm of unconsciousness. Seeing the boy fall down to the floor, the bruised and battered men   
grunted out their thanks while they wiped the blood from their faces. The men quickly tied, gagged and blindfolded the   
unconscious boy before their leader threw Heero over his shoulder, he then turned to face his men as he said "We've got what   
we came for, we need to head back to the ship before anyone notices what's going on" As one of the men bent down to pick up   
their unconscious friend, their leader spoke up again "Leave him" Nervous glances passed throughout the group as one of the   
kidnappers said "We cant just leave him behind like this Muller" With a serious tone in his voice Muller said "He will only   
slow us down, now move it or else I'll leave you behind also" Reluctantly the men left their fallen comrade behind, and   
quietly slipped back out of the palace.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"You're late" A rough voice called out from the dark corner of the pier. Adjusting the unconscious bundle on his shoulder,  
while his eyes adjusted to the dim light the newcomer replied "Sorry about that Alex but our hostage throws a pretty mean   
punch, it took all five of us just to knock the kid down" "So you got him then Muller?" "Yes, but I wonder what the boss   
wants with this punk anyway?" Shrugging his shoulders Alex gestured for Muller to bring their cargo onboard the ship that   
was waiting for them.   
  
A crewman walked up to the pair and Muller handed the bundle over to him then continued on his way "I will feel much better   
once we get this kid safely back to our hideout, this place gives me the creeps" Watching the men carefully, Alex quietly   
replied "I know what you mean. I wonder what's so special about him anyway, I mean he looks like an ordinary brat to me"   
Slapping his friend playfully over the back of the head, Muller seriously said "You don't have any idea of where we are do   
you Alex?" Receiving only a blank stare in reply, he sighed before continuing "Well I cant blame you since this is your first  
voyage with us. See that big building there Alex, that's Enlizer the palace built by the Gods themselves. They say that the   
Royal family who live here are the direct descendants of the Gods" Eyes becoming impossibly wide, Alex said in disbelief "You  
mean to tell me we came all the way to the legendary palace built by the gods, and all we take from it is some snot nosed   
kid!?! There's bound to be loads of stuff more valuable?" Rolling his eyes Muller calmly said "There would have to be   
something special about the kid if our boss ordered us to kidnap him, are you really that dense or what?" Grinning sheepishly  
Alex just shrugged, as he walked off he loudly said "I'm going to tell the captain we got our target, and we're ready to set   
sail"  
  
With only the night owls as witness a lone ship disembarked from the pier and into the dark open waters, leaving behind a  
sleeping kingdom that was unaware of what had transpired that night.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
The early morning mist was all that could be seen as the ship silently made its way through the strangely quiet waters around  
them. There was an uneasy feeling within all of the crew, whispers past between them about the unnatural silence of the sea.   
A voice from above them broke the quiet atmosphere as the lookout cried out "Storm coming!" And just like that the silence   
was broken as all the crew set to the task to ready the ship for the upcoming storm. Walking out onto the deck Muller looked   
up towards the pitch black clouds hovering over them, grinning he quietly said to himself "I guess they just found out what   
we stole" Knowing how brutal the upcoming storm was going to be, he then ran off to join the others to prepare the ship.   
  
Lightning crashed all around them as the rain pelted down, wiping the water out of his eyes Muller tightened the ropes for   
the sails with the aid of the others around him. Another bolt of lightning made itself know as it lit up the entire morning   
sky. Looking over his shoulder Muller shouted "Alex! get your arse over here and help us with this bloody thing!" Making sure   
he wouldn't slip on his way over, Alex careful made his way over towards the others.   
  
The lightning came crashing down once again, this time hitting the ships mast causing the sails to catch on fire. There were   
shouts from all over the ship, as the flame quickly made its way down the wood. More panicked shouts came out, as all the   
crew attempted to douse the flames with anything they could find. But this action only seemed to fuel the all ready out of   
control fire. "What the hell does it take to put this thing out?!?!" Someone cried from the other side of the deck, as Muller   
threw another bucket of water onto the flames. "Where the hell is the captain?" Shouted Alex while he attempted to tie the   
loose ropes to anything that could hold them in place. A giant wave came down on the ship, as a couple of the crewmen fell   
into the icy waters below. "Man overboard" Was called out from somewhere behind him. Wiping as much water out of his eyes as   
possible, Muller threw the bucket to Alex and shouted out "Do what you can with the flames, I'll go see what's keeping the  
captain" Then ran off in the direction of the captain quarters.  
  
Floorboard creaked under his light footsteps and with each step he took, Muller couldn't shake the feeling that something was  
not right. Turning the corner, his destination could be seen at the end of the passage he was on. Slowly he made his way to   
the lone door, reaching out his hand Alex grasped the door handle. While he turned the handle, Muller could smell the faintest  
hint of blood in the air. Opening the door his blood went cold as he took in the sight of what was left of their captain.   
There against the wall before him was defiantly the captain, but his arms and legs had been pinned to the wooden walls by the  
various weapons inside the cabin. His insides were now scattered on the floor below him, surrounded in a large pool of his   
own blood. Turning his gaze away from the horrific sight, he wondered exactly what sort of person could do that to another   
human being. That was when his vision rested on the unconscious boy, who was still tied and gagged. Taking a step inside the   
room, Muller muttered quietly to himself "Just who in the hell did this?" As he said this, the air all around him suddenly went   
cold, as something in the shadows of the room moved. Grasping the hilt of his sword, Muller bravely called out "Who ever you   
are, I'm going to have your head for what you have done! There's no escape for the likes of you"  
  
A large figure wearing armour as black as the night sky, appeared from out of the shadows. Two large red horns protruded out   
from the black helm he wore that covered the mans head entirely. A mustard coloured cape was attached to both of the shoulder  
joins, and flew down from the dark figure almost touching the ground. A silver emblem of some sort embedded with a strange   
pattern was attached upon the black breast plate, as the rest of the armour was edged with gold plating. Taking a step back,   
Muller felt all of his courage leave him when the caped man chuckled deeply before he spoke up "There is no future for those   
foolish enough to intend any harm to my little Jurei"   
  
Raising his armour clad arm, the figure snapped his fingers. Not even a second later and a large sword suddenly appeared in   
his hand, one that looked like it was forged from the flames of hell itself. Dark violet jewels were imbedded in the jet   
black hilt of the weapon, the blade itself had a strange language written in gold along it. Muller though did not even have   
enough time to draw out his own weapon, because the dark figure appeared suddenly before him with his sword raised high in   
the air. In one swift motion the sword came down so quickly that if it wasn't for the pain cursing through his body, Muller   
would have thought that the attack completely missed. Stumbling back Muller dropped his sword and ran his fingers down his   
chest. Bringing up his hand to eye level, he was not surprised to see them coated with blood....his blood. Falling down to   
his knees, just before he fell into deaths embrace he heard the dark figure quietly say "You will experience nothing but   
pain where you are going"   
  
The caped figure stepped to the side as the now dead body dropped to the floor. The sword in his hand disappeared, as he   
made his way over to the still unconscious boy. With a simple wave of his hand, the bounds that had tied the boy disappeared.  
Gently picking up the small body with one hand, the other one went to brush the boys bang away from his face. Seeing the dark  
blue flame mark upon the boy's forehead, the dark figure smiled. After placing a soft kiss on the mark, a black light   
surrounded the pair before they both disappeared.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
The waves softly broke against the sand as two figures appeared out of no where, one large armoured figure while the other a   
unconscious boy. Tightening his hold on the boy, emotionless eyes looked out towards the sea. A satisfied smirk crossed the   
man's face when he saw the smoking ship way off in the distance, slowly sinking into the icy waters.   
  
Walking over to the grassy area near the beach the pair had landed on, the caped man place the boy beneath a nearby tree.   
Cold eyes softened when they looked down at the boy laying there peacefully, softly he said "You are safe for now my little   
Jurei.....but you have a long hard road ahead of you" Far off voices caught the man's attention. Narrowing his eyes to get a   
better look, the caped man could see two figures slowly making their way towards the pair. Sighing to himself, he returned   
his attention to the boy lying next to him. Placing one more soft kiss on the boy's marked forehead the man ruffled the   
unconscious boy bangs, successfully covering the mark once again. Slowly he stood and began to back away from the boy. With   
a hint of sadness in his voice, the armoured man softly said "We will soon meet again......be safe my little Jurei"   
  
Prussian blue eyes slowly opened when he heard his chosen name softly spoken, and the first thing they saw was a dark blurry   
figure standing just a few meters away from him. Heero was just about to ask who was there, when the dark figure suddenly   
vanished. Not sure if what he saw was real or not the blue eyed boy attempted to stand up, but due to his weakened condition   
he stumbled back to the ground. Faintly in the background he could hear voices, before his mind drifted off to the darkness   
of unconsciousness once again.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"Man I cant wait till we reach the next village, I'm so sick of sleeping outdoors. Plus we haven't had a decent meal in over  
a week! I'm telling you Tro if this turns out to be another dead end, I'm personally going to go back and strangle that old  
geezer for making us walk to such a remote village!" Use to his braided companions continual whining the emerald eye boy  
choose to ignore what ever was being said, and focused on the dirt road before them. Seeing that he was being ignored, Duo  
sighed loudly as he threw up his arms into the air in frustration and said "And to top things off, I'm travelling with   
someone who doesn't even appreciate my company!"   
  
Trowa stopped walking suddenly when something in the distance caught his attention. Curious as to why his friend had stopped,  
the braided boy raised an eyebrow as he looked in the same direction as Trowa did. In the distance they both could see a   
solitary figure lying underneath a tree. A look was shared between the pair, as Trowa quietly took hold of his large crossbow  
and took aim. Duo slowly bent down and pulled a dagger from out of his boot, then silently made his way over to when the   
figure lay.  
  
When the braided boy was certain that both he and Trowa were in no immediate danger, Duo silently crept up to the figure and   
carefully turned it over. His violet eyes widened when he found that the figure was only a boy, who looked to be a few  
years younger than both Trowa and himself. Bending down Duo was glad to see that the boy was still alive, even though he  
seemed to be unconscious. Sensing no danger he signalled to Trowa that everything was well, then went back to study the   
younger boy. He noticed that the boy's body was lean but was well-built, he wore a fitted long sleeved dark blue tunic with   
a light blue trim around the edge of it. Skin tight black pants that barely left anything to the imagination, brown boots   
which came up to his calves and a white hooded cloak buckled around his neck that reached down to the tops of his boots. On   
closer inspection of the cloak, he noticed the delicate pale blue embroidery of some unknown symbol at the bottom in each   
corner. Bringing the corner of the cloak up closer for a better look, Duo found the symbol to be one of a flame.   
  
Releasing the cloth, the braided boy turned his attention to the boys face. Duo Brushed the chocolate bangs away from his   
face so that he could get a better look, and was surprised to see the same symbol that was embroided on the cloak was also   
on the boy's forehead. As he ran his thumb over the mark, as a strange feeling of wanting to protect the boy surged through   
him. Hearing Trowa approaching him, Duo unconsciously covered the mark up before he said "I think it would be best for us to   
camp here for the night Tro" Nodding his head in agreement, Trowa began to set up camp.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
From the distance the caped figure watched silently as the braided boy carefully picked up his little Jurei, then carried him  
over to where his travelling companion had set up camp. A small smile tugged at his lips as a dark light appeared once more   
around the armoured man before he quietly said "And so it begins" Then disappeared once again.  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
  
Notes: Ok that's my first chapter done. I would love to hear what you guys all thought of it, so please review. Also for all  
of you wondering, I will be writing a sequel to Two Pieces. And until I start it, I hope that this story will keep you guys   
happy while you wait. 


	2. Renewal of Promises

Title: Between Darkness and Light - Renewal of Promises  
Pairings: 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4, H+2, R+1, M+5, 13+6, past 6+9  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all additional characters are mine though.  
Warnings: Shounen Ai, slight OOC, some violence   
  
  
A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed: Heero's 15, Duo's 18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18   
and Wufei's 16.  
  
  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~ = Change of scene  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The night torches were softly burning, giving off little light now that the sun was beginning to rise, casting the marbled   
hallway's throughout Enlizer in a soft yellow glow. One by one the palace staff began to surface, the kitchen staff immediately   
began work on the morning's breakfast menu. Various fruit and cheese platters were being created, as many crystal jugs were   
filled with a variety of wine's and other liquids. While breakfast was being prepared, other palace servants began their   
morning routine of cleaning and preparing the Great Hall in preparation for the daily meetings.   
  
The sound of clanking armour could be heard as two guards walked side by side down the empty hallway that lead to the resting  
chambers of their Jurei. There was a feeling of unease shared between the two guards, the area around them seemed to be   
too quiet. Usually at this time in the morning there were the peaceful sounds of the birds singing, but all that greeted   
them this morning was total silence. As the guards past the large wooden door that connected to the Jurei's bed chamber, a   
faint groan could be heard from within. The sound instantly made the two large men suspicious as Thomas the first guard   
motioned for his partner Derek to cover him while he entered the room. The door creaked when it was opened slowly, before   
Thomas entered the room as quietly as possible.  
  
The sound of cursing and a weapon being drawn was all that Derek needed, he rushed into the room taking out his own sword in   
the process. With his weapon held high, the large dark haired guard ran over to aid the other as he began to restrain the   
intruder. From over his shoulder Thomas shouted "I can handle him! Derek you go and check on the Jurei, see if he's been   
harmed at all" Running through the room, Derek threw open the doors that lead to the bed chambers. He gasped loudly just   
before a string of muttered curse's erupted from his lips. Fear gripped his insides as Derek desperately searched every inch   
of the room in a vain attempt to locate the missing chosen child. When it was obvious that the boy was not in the room, Derek  
rushed out of the room and franticly yelled "He's gone Thomas!" Anger flashed in Thomas's green eyes, as he looked down in   
disgust at the prisoner below him. Not being very gentle, he lifted the bound and gagged man from the floor and practically  
threw him towards Derek. In a voice full of barely suppressed hatred and anger he ordered "Take that bastard to the dungeon,   
we'll let the prison guard's deal with him until he decides to talk. I'll go and inform the Royal Family and the High Priest   
about what has happened"   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Long pure white robes fanned out around him as the High Priest J knelt on the patterned marbled floor in front of the Goddess  
of Life statue praying. The temple doors suddenly burst open, interrupting all of the priests in the mists of their prayers.   
The clanking of armour could be heard echoing off the large pearl white stone walls as the guard made his way towards the   
High Priest. Raising a fluffy white eyebrow, J lifted himself off the floor and turned his attention to the direction of the  
disturbance.  
  
Thomas half ran half walked into the temple, all the while still trying to show some respect to the Gods resting place. He  
soon found the High Priest standing in front of the statue dedicated to Jurei and unconsciously gulped at the annoyed   
expression on the old priests face. Lowering to one knee in respect, Thomas said in a voice barely above a whisper "Pardon   
my intrusion Holy One, but we have a serious situation that requires your immediate attention" Curious as to what the   
situation could be, J motioned for the guard to follow him into his study chambers.  
  
Once they were both seated inside the room, J looked seriously into the others green eyes as he said "What is so urgent that  
you feel the need to interrupt our praying time?" Sweeting under the intent gaze the old priest was giving him, Thomas forced   
himself to calm down as he answered "It seems that the Jurei has been kidnapped Holy One" With his eyes going impossibly  
large, J jumped up from out of his chair and yelled "WHAT!?! Do tell me that this is some really bad idea of a joke!" The  
seriousness in the priest's voice made Thomas want to run and hide from what he was just about to say "This is no joke Holy  
One. We have captured an intruder within the Jurei's resting chambers, and the Jurei himself is missing"   
  
A crackling noise caught the attentions of the priest's still praying out in the main temple, as the area around them began   
to sparkle with white sparks of energy. The temple priests all looked at each other, the same worried expression was evident   
on each of their faces at the sight. The very idea of their usually calm High Priest loosing his temper was unthinkable. But   
to upset the old priest so much that he looses control over his power, that is what worried them the most. All their thoughts  
were situated around the same question, what could have happened to cause the High Priest to act this way?  
  
Trying to calm himself from the anger and fear cursing through his body, J took a deep breath as he stole a quick glance at   
the fire place and said "Have the Royal Family been informed?" Not missing a beat Thomas replied "Yes Holy One. I informed   
them myself of the situation, there is to be an emergency meeting within the Great Hall" Composing himself as he walked   
over to the door, J turned to look at the guard before he left and ordered "I will head for the Great Hall after I have sent   
one of my priests to the dungeon in order to help with the prisoner's interrogation. I would like both the Dragon Child and   
Master O to be in attendance at the Great Hall also, they both deserve to hear the news with everyone else. But it is of the   
utmost importance that you do not tell them anything before hand, is that understood?" Thomas wasn't certain but for a split   
second he saw something akin to a deep fear showing in the old mans eyes before the priest left in a hurry though the door.   
Not long after the Priest left, Thomas was also out the door rushing in the direction of the shrine dedicated to the Dragon   
God Shenlong to deliver his message.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Through the many windows of the Great Hall, the blue sky outside began to darken and cloud over forcing the servants to   
relight the torches around the room. Up on the throne sitting next to his father, sat the blonde Prince of Enlizer. His   
golden bangs fell across his pale skin and light blue eyes that were filled with worry and concern as they sighted the   
whispering advisors gathered within the Great Hall. Bringing up his hand to unconsciously rub at his chest, his blue eyes   
landed on the young Chinese boy standing not too far from him. On the outside the younger boy's face was calm, but Quatre   
could sense a great deal of fear and worry flowing off of his childhood friend.   
  
The feeling of someone touching his shoulder jerked the Prince out of his thoughts as the voice of his father spoke softly to  
him "Quatre, are you sure you want to be here when the others find out about what has happened?" Quatre's worried filled   
eyes had a look of determination in them as he turned to face his father. In a quiet but firm voice he said "Not only am I   
the Prince of this Kingdom and feel it is my responsibility to be here for our people at our greatest time of need. But I   
also want to be here because the Jurei was...is one of my closest friends" The Kings gaze softened at his son's answer and   
smiled as he said "Very well, you better prepare yourself then. I don't want you too strain yourself too much, there will be  
a lot off strong emotions once word gets out" A slight smile graced the blonde Prince's face after hearing his father's words.  
His blue eyes scanned the people in attendance as he quietly replied "Thankyou for your concern father but I will be fine"  
Quatre's gaze fell once again on that of Wufei's form as he whispered to himself "But I'm not the one to worry about"   
  
Many voices were whispering to one another by the time the Hight Priest entered the Great Hall. The large double doors were  
shut behind him by the door guards as J walked past the court advisors. At the end of the red and gold carpet sat the King  
of Enlizer and his son Quatre, the crowned Prince. The Kings strong voice boomed over the hushed whispers of the court as he  
began "My fellow subjects I have grave news indeed to inform you all of, sometime during the night our Jurei was forcefully   
taken from within his resting chambers. We have one of his kidnappers in the dungeon and he is being interrogated as we   
speak" Outraged shouts were could be heard from all attending the meeting, as each advisors voice their own opinion of the   
Kings statement. Ordering silence, the Kings gaze hardened as he asked his captain of the guards "Were there any ships that   
arrived after that of the Duke Noventa?" The aging captain's eyes widened slightly before he answered "No your majesty, but   
we were informed this morning that Noventa's vessel set sail sometime during the night" Angered shouts erupted from the   
people gathered within the Great Hall once again, standing up from his throne the King bellowed "And no one thought it to be   
the least bit suspicious about its sudden departure?!? What of the Duke Noventa himself? Did he also depart along with his   
crew?" "No your majesty, I believe he is still within the guest chambers as we speak" Bowing the captain took a step back   
then continued "I shall order my troops to escort the Duke right now with your permission your majesty" After receiving the   
Kings approval, the captain rushed through the large doors and barked out his orders to the first guard he saw.  
  
The Great Hall became silent once more as the Duke Noventa walked down the red and gold carpet with the Kings guards   
escorting him all the way. The Duke bowed stiffly before the King, then looked up with a disgruntled look on his face and   
said "I came here as the representative for the Sanq Kingdom by order of Queen Relena herself to discuss trade agreements   
between our two Kingdoms. Now you treat me like some common criminal, what is the meaning of all of this?!?" Calmly the   
King said "I care not for your false words Duke Noventa" He paused for a second, then asked "Are you aware of the fact that   
your ship is no longer within our port?" Surprised by the question, Noventa raised an eyebrow as he said "No your Majesty"   
The King carefully regarded the man before him, then spoke once more "Are you also aware of the fact that last night this   
palace's most valuable and priceless possession had been stolen from us. Add this to the fact that your ship is no longer   
in our port leads us to believe that you and your crew had something to do with this unforgivable act" Noventa's face paled   
at the Kings words, taking a step back from shock he barely managed to say "I had my most trusted men with me on this   
voyage......how can this be? There must be some sort of misunderstanding" "This is no misunderstanding" The Kings gaze then   
turned as cold as ice and continued "For your unforgivable crime against the Royal family and the people of Enlizer, your   
life will be forfeit and until an execution date can be set you will spend your remaining days within the palace prison.   
Guards! Please escort Duke Noventa to a holding cell" Two of the guards surrounding Noventa drew their swords, while the   
remaining two each took hold of the Dukes arms. His eyes widening with fear as Noventa pleaded "Please, you can not do this!   
I am positive this is all just a simple misunderstanding"   
  
Before anything else could be said the large door were thrown open as one of the prison guards came rushing into the Great   
Hall. The King raised an eyebrow at the interruption just as the guard spoke "Your majesty, we have just finished interrogating  
the prisoner" Motioning all in the room to be quiet, the King asked "What did you find out?" Looking hesitantly between the   
King and Noventa, the guard carefully choose his words as he answered "The information we pulled from his soul told us that   
a little over half of Duke Noventa's crew were in fact a group of thieves who call themselves the Sweepers. Apart from that,   
the only other information we got from his soul told us that his companions did in fact get what they came for your majesty"   
  
Just after those words were said, all the torches around the room suddenly blazed out of control sending angry flames quickly  
up the walls. The ground below them began to tremble violently as the already dark sky darkened further. Black clouds rolled   
across the sky blocking all traces of sunlight as far as the eye could see, creating an eerie red glow around the hall due to   
the flaming torches. The sound of thunder could be heard directly over the palace, as a bolt of lightning illuminated the   
entire hall with its bright light. Harsh winds continually howled as it whipped through the towers that peaked from Enlizer,   
causing the many glass windows around the palace to crack and break under its pressure. Panic quickly erupted throughout the   
Great Hall as the people within attempted to shield themselves from the pouring rain and falling glass. Looking through the   
broken windows, Quatre was not surprised to see the fierce storm that was brewing. The sound of a door slamming shut though   
jolted Quatre out of his thoughts as he felt a strong feeling of guilt and fear flowing from his long time friend. The blonde   
Prince stood up then made a quick retreat through the same door that the Chinese boy just went through, all the while hearing  
his fathers strong voice trying to calm the people down.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
A flash of lightning reflected off the long marbled hallway blinded Quatre for a few seconds, then slowly the silhouette   
of someone sitting on a window sill came into view. Already knowing who the person was, the blonde Prince walked over and   
took a seat opposite his troubled friend. In the younger boy's lap sat the small green dragon Nataku, who at the moment was   
looking up at her master with worry in her gleaming red eyes. Reaching out his hand, Quatre gently scratched the tiny dragon   
on the head. Nataku though, did not turn her attentions away from her master. The three of them just sat there for some   
time in total silence. Wufei's attentions fully focused on the dark storm clouds rolling through the sky, while Quatre sat   
there patiently waiting for his Chinese friend to speak.   
  
The ground had already stopped trembling the moment Wufei left the Great Hall, but the sound of thunder still rumbled loudly   
all throughout the palace. Wufei slowly raised his hand to touch the glass window where the rain drops ran down his   
reflection's face, mirroring the silent tears falling from his own, quietly he said "I have failed him" Trying to take   
as much sympathy out of his voice as possible, the blonde Prince replied "No you haven't Wufei, there was no way you could   
have know this was going to happen" Another bolt of lightning snaked its way across the black sky as Wufei spoke again   
"I vowed to myself long ago that I would always protect him, and when he needed me the most I was not there to help. I have   
disgraced myself and I am no longer worthy enough to carry the honour of being Shenlong's chosen child......I am nothing but   
a failure" Shock flashed over Quatre's face at the Chinese boy's words, before it changed into one of sadness. Sighing the   
blue eyed boy took hold of Wufei's hands and calmly said "If you are a failure, than so am I" Holding up one of his pale   
hands to stop any protests the other might say, he continued "Yes I am, and so is the whole of the Royal Family. For it was   
my family's duty given by the Gods themselves to protect the children chosen by the Gods and Goddesses. We failed our given   
duty the moment Heero was taken from us. But fear not Wufei, our Jurei is not lost to us yet. Father will most probably   
order the Holy Maganac Knights to go out and search for him"   
  
Standing up from the window sill, Quatre straighten out his outfit as he said "Why don't you go to my study chambers. It will  
be quiet there, and it will also give you the opportunity to think over what I have said without being disturbed. I will be  
returning to the meeting, once they are over I will join you.....Don't be too hard on yourself Wufei, there was nothing you  
could have done" For the first time since settling on the window sill, Wufei turned his attention away from the window and   
looked at his friend. The thunder sounded distant now, as thin rays of golden light began to penetrate the thinning black   
clouds. The raven haired boy carefully picked Nataku off of his lap before he stood. Cradling the small dragon in his arms,  
all Wufei could answer with was a tiny nod of his head before he silently walked off.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
After order was restored, the Hight Priest J walked up to Noventa and looked deep into his eyes. He took his time regarding  
the other man, before he finally came to a decision. Turning to his King, J said "If I may speak with you your majesty?" The   
King's face had a look of surprise on it before he motioned for the priest to continue. Taking one more look at the Duke, J   
walked up to the King then lent down and whispered something in his ear.   
  
When J had finished speaking, the King motioned his soldiers to bring the Duke before him once more. Quietly regarding   
Noventa for a few moments, the King finally spoke up in a tone that held no arguments "In light of the new information, I   
have decided against your execution. How ever, the trade you proposed will be null and void until I decide otherwise. You   
and your remaining men are free to leave the Holy Palace of Enlizer, we will supply you with a vessel to carry you home"   
Taking a moment to look at all the people's angry expressions around the Great Hall, the Kings eyes narrowed slightly when   
he turned his gaze back to the kneeling Duke and spoke again "Punishment is still needed however, for even though you held   
no knowledge of the danger you allowed to gain entrance to the Palace. The Royal family, the temple priests of Amara and the   
people of Enlizer, still hold you personally responsible for the loss of what was stolen from us. Therefore once you leave   
this island, you will be forever banished from ever returning. I will have my guards load you belongings after this meeting   
is over and done with. While you await your ships departure, you and your men will be confined to the guest chambers. You   
are now dismissed Duke Noventa"  
  
The guards helped the Duke up to his feet, looking up at where the King sat Noventa asked "If I may ask your majesty, just  
what was stolen from your palace? Perhaps if you provide me with a decent description of the item, I could get my people to  
begin a search for the missing treasure" Before he could finish though, the King's strong voice interrupted him "No you may   
not, this matter no longer any concern of yours. You are dismissed Duke Noventa" The Duke bowed before the Kings, the turned   
and left the room accompanied by his escort of guards.  
  
The King then dismissed all of his advisors, then motioned for a private meeting between himself, the High Priest J, Master O  
and Rashid the leader of the Holy Maganac Knights.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~   
  
  
Once the door closed behind them, each of the men took a seat around the large square table situated at the centre of the  
room. As soon as everyone was seated Master O demanded "What was your reason behind letting the Duke live Priest? You of all  
people should be the one wanting justice for his crimes whether he knew of them or not, since it was your Jurei that was  
taken from us" Calmly the old priest looked at Master O as he replied "You're right I do want justice, but I do not want to   
see an innocent loose their life because of their failure to recognize a potential threat. Yes Noventa should have taken a   
lot more care with the selection of his crew, but he is not the one responsible for the kidnapping of our Jurei"   
  
Silence followed after J's statement, all seeing the wisdom in the old priest's words. Not wanting to waste any time Rashid   
broke the silence and asked "With your permission your majesty, I will leave at once along with the other Maganac knights and  
begin the search for our missing Jurei" After hearing Rashid's words, the old priest immediately said "Your majesty though it   
pains me to say this, I must strongly advise against sending any of your men out to go in search of the Jurei. Our best   
course of action for the time being is to stay within the palace walls" A shocked gasp could be heard behind the old priest   
as he turned to see the Prince standing in the doorway.   
  
Anger flared up within Quatre at the words he over heard them all talking about. Ignoring everyone else in the room, his   
blue eyes narrowed as he looked at the High Priest and said "I can not believe that you of all people would say such a thing   
priest, we can not just stand by and do nothing! The Jurei's life is a stake" Sighing, J looked at the blonde boy with   
sadness in his eyes as he said "We can not run the risk of starting a war with either of the neighbouring countries by   
sending our most powerful armies into each of their kingdoms to go in search for something the majority of these people know   
nothing about. This sort of action will only lead the other rulers to believe that we have declared war over matters of   
what they believe to only be some sort of sacred treasure that was stolen from us. No, unfortunately we must sit tight and   
hope for the safe return of our Jurei"   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"This is injustice! How can they just sit back and wait! What cowards they all are, for all we know Yuy could be dead!"   
Giving his long time friend a sympathetic look, Quatre softly spoke up "Calm down Wufei, you are getting no where by just   
walking back and forth yelling. Now would you please take a seat and listen to the rest of what I have to say" The Chinese   
boy stopped his pacing, then grudgingly took the offered seat and waited for his friend to continue "Unfortunately we can do   
nothing but wait, since my father has ordered that there is to be no search for our missing Jurei. Not even the Holy Maganac   
Knights are allowed to go in search of him, and after the ship leaves port tonight no other will be allowed to dock or set   
sail. My hands are tied in this matter, for not even I can go against the Kings orders"   
  
Sensing the distress in his friend, Quatre stood up from his chair and walked around the table to stand in front of the   
Chinese boy. Looking thoughtful, the Prince looked at Wufei with a strange glint in his eyes as he added "I just hope that no   
one is foolish enough to attempt sneaking aboard the ship that is leaving this evening to take the Duke Noventa back to the   
Sanq Kingdom. Anyone caught doing so would most certainly be thrown in the dungeons for their complete disregard of their   
Kings wishes. But if someone does actually manage to sneak aboard" Shrugging his shoulders he then continued "Well I guess   
that can't be helped now can it?" Wufei's face lit up with a sinister smile as he casually said "I do not know who indeed   
would be foolish enough to attempt the Kings wrath?" Clasping his hands together as he grinned, Quatre happily said "Now   
that we got that all sorted out, there is something I want to give to you before you leave" When he only received a blank   
look, Quatre moved over to the door saying "You will have to follow me in order to find out what it is"  
  
Entering the Royal families treasure room, the blonde Prince walked up to a large jade statue of a winged angel that stood   
proud and tall in the middle of the large room. Held within each of its delicate hands were two simple looking gold circlets.  
Walking up to the statue, Quatre carefully retrieved both circlets then made his way back over to his friend. Holding out   
one of his pale hands, Wufei slowly lifted his own hand to grab the offered item. Looking down at the circlet in his grasp,   
he couldn't help but admire its simplistic beauty. Embedded in the front of the circlet was a dark green jewel that had   
bright red and gold swirls making intricate waving patterns on the gem. The rest of the circlet consisted of only a thin   
gold band. Looking up questionable at his friend, Wufei raised a delicate eyebrow as he asked "What is this for?" Smiling at   
his friend, Quatre answered "Well you are going to need some help in finding Heero. That circlet you are holding was given   
to our family by the Gods, legend says that the sacred jewel Shinji reside within each of the two circlets and that only the   
ones who bare the mark of the Gods can wear them. I don't know too much about them myself, but what I do know is that when   
you wear this you will be able to feel were Heero is. It won't be as strong as it could be since Heero isn't wearing the   
other one, but at least it will give you a clue as to where he might be" Handing over the other jewelled circlet to Wufei,   
Quatre also added "Take this one with you also for when you find Heero, you never know it might come in handy" Looking down   
at the object in his hand, onyx eyes widened at the sight of the jewel embedded within the second circlet. This one was a   
dark blue colour with thin white, red and gold streaks swirling throughout it, all along the outside of the gem was surrounded   
by small light green stones that at the moment looked dull and lifeless. Taking his attentions off the circlets, Wufei looked  
up and said with a smile "Perhaps I have not yet broken my promise to protect Heero......Thankyou Quatre, you have no idea   
how much this means to me" Returning his friends smile, the blonde boy replied "You can thank me by returning our Jurei to   
us in one piece. Now you better get going, you wouldn't want to miss the boat now would you?"   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~   
  
  
The sound of a fire crackling was the first thing Heero heard as he began to wake, he could see soft yellow and orange colours  
as they danced across his closed eyelids. Groaning from pain as his head felt like it was about to split in two, the blue   
eyed boy attempted to sit only to have someone's hand push him back down. A firm voice amusingly said above him "Looks like   
sleeping beauty's finally awaken" Frowning at how he was being addressed, Heero cracked open one eye in an attempt to see the  
speaker. A slight gasp was heard above him as his eyes tried to focus, but he could only make out a blurry figure hovering   
over him. In the same amused voice, the person above him spoke again "You still need rest, you've been in and out of it   
almost all day now, but don't worry you're safe"   
  
The sound off dripping water was heard, then Heero felt a damp cloth being place upon his forehead. Again the voice spoke up   
"Care to tell me how you ended up this way, or am I going to have to play twenty questions with you?" Closing his eyes, Heero  
concentrated on his last memory. The image of five large men attacking him from all directions quickly flashed in his mind,   
and in an automatic response Heero ignored his aching head and leapt away from the speaker. When Heero landed he collapsed  
down to one knee panting, he continued to ignore his protesting body as he gathered enough strength to stand. Fixing the   
older boy in front of him with a glare, he angrily yelled "Where are they?!?"   
  
Duo was startled when the blue eyed boy below him suddenly leapt out from under him. Hearing the younger boys question, Duo  
quickly replaced his shocked expression with one of confusion as he said "Where are who?" The messy haired boy's eyes   
narrowed as he spat "The cowards who attacked me!" Raising his hands up in a gesture of peace, Duo stood up slowly as he   
said "Calm down there buddy. you were alone by the time we found you. They probably stole your money then split, that happens   
a lot when people travel alone you know" The braided boy saw the suspicious look in the others eye, then quickly added "I'm   
not asking you to trust us or anything. But right now it looks like we're the only friends you have"  
  
Heero raised an eyebrow when the braided boy before him mentioned there to be others once again. Taking a quick look around   
the area they were to spend the night, he found that there were only the two of them. Heero's body tensed in readiness as   
he simply asked "We?" A grin came across Duo's face when he heard the question, he didn't waste any time and replied "My   
travelling partner's out gathering food in preparation for tonight's meal" Relaxing a little, Heero gaze still held suspicion   
in it as he said "And who might you be anyway?"  
  
The braided boy slapped his head for his forgetfulness as he said "Sorry about that, Duo Maxwell at your service. I run   
and I hide, but I never tell a lie" As he held out his hand, Heero just looked at the offered hand strangely not really   
understanding why people always insisted on wanting to touch one another. Taking a small step away from the braided boy,   
Heero looked straight into his violet eyes as he said "Heero, Heero Yuy" Dropping his hand in defeat, Duo sighed slightly   
as he said "It's nice to meet you Heero" Before anything else could be said, Heero's fatigue came back with full force.   
Falling down to his knees, his blue eyes widened in surprise when he felt strong arms wrap around his waist preventing him   
from falling any further. Not use to so much contact from another person, Heero's body automatically tensed up when he felt   
Duo's warm breath brush across his face. With the amusement back in his voice, Duo said "You need to take it easy there   
buddy, don't want you passing out on me again now do we?" When it was obvious that Duo wasn't going to release his hold on   
him anytime soon, Heero's eyes hardened as he demanded "Let me go" But to the blue eyed boy's surprise, Duo quickly and   
easily lifted him off his feet and said "I will" He chuckled lightly, then continued "Once I tuck you back into bed that is"   
A slight pink tinge spread across Heero's face just before he send the braided baka the best death glare he could produce.  
  
The sound of someone approaching drew Heero's attention away from his dilemma for the time being as he heard a calm voice   
speak up "I'm not even gone for thirty minutes and look what happens" Alarmed by the voice Heero was just about to attempt   
jumping out of Duo's hold, but the braided boy just tightened his grip and laughed "Hey Tro-man, so what's on the menu for   
today?" From over his shoulders, Trowa threw to the ground two freshly killed rabbits. "Not rabbit again! Couldn't you find   
us something that we haven't already been eating continually for the past five days!" Whined the braided boy, suddenly the   
noise of someone clearing their throat caught Duo's attention. Duo's violet eyes widened when he remembered that he was still  
holding the younger boy within his arms. With a sheepish grin, Duo looked down at the blue eyed boy and said "Sorry...by the   
way, that talkative guy over there is none other than Trowa Barton, Trowa this is Heero Yuy" Both Heero and Trowa nodded   
their heads in acknowledgement just before they heard a soft sigh coming from Duo. Raising an eyebrow, Heero asked "What?"   
Shaking his head, the braided boy simply muttered a frustrated "Nothing" Before he cheerfully said "Guess I should be   
putting you to bed now shouldn't I, it's probably way past your bedtime anyway" Another glare was send his way but all Duo   
could do was smile at the cute sight.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
A solitary figure hung back in the shadows carefully watching the movements of the men around him as the last of the Dukes   
belongings were being brought aboard the ship. Moving with the shadows the young Chinese boy quietly made his way onto the   
ship undetected. Once on board, Wufei easily found a suitable hiding place. Carefully placing his bag onto the floor so that   
he wouldn't damage the two gold circlets within, the Chinese boy then sat down and prepared himself for the voyage ahead of   
him.   
  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
  
  
Notes: Wow, I just want to say BIG thanks to Pink Cherry Blossom, Ladye Black, GoldenRat, DreamWeaver, Shinigami's Minion,  
CinC, Yume Maxwell-Yuy, Hakumei, x1-TaKeN-oVeR, Emily Hato, tenshiamanda, Black-Winged Angel, Kyra, Konpeitou,   
aka-kitsune-chan, Alchemy, Nanashi Kage Enjeru and last but defiantly not least Hikari for all your great reviews for the   
first chapter, I'm glad that you all liked it ^_^ Your reviews really help with my inspiration and my writing, so please   
keep them coming. 


	3. Dream's and Memories

Title: Between Darkness and Light - Dream's and Memories  
Pairings: 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4, H+2, R+1, M+5, 13+6, past 6+9  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all additional characters are mine though.  
Warnings: Shounen Ai, slight OOC, some violence   
  
  
A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed: Heero's 15, Duo's 18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18   
and Wufei's 16.  
  
  
~What happens to Hee-chan in this chapter is dedicated to you Yume-chan, you will know exactly what part I mean when you get   
to it *grins* I hope you like it ^_^ That goes for everyone else also....enjoy~   
  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~ = Change of scene  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Come out come out where ever you are pretty boy.....we're not going to hurt you, we just want to talk" Called out a mocking  
voice within the darkness. From his hiding place a child no older than seven years of age peered out from within the bushes,   
his teary blue eyes searched fearfully in the dark for his perusers. The occasional flicker of the night torches inside the   
palace made it possible for the young child to see the outlined silhouette of two figures as they began to search the gardens.   
"There is not point in hiding Heero....you know we will find you eventually" Shaking violently with fear the young child   
shrank back further into the bushed as silent tears continually streamed down his face.   
  
Only the sound of the trees shadowed branches could be heard rustling lightly in the night breeze for some time, until the   
silence was broken by the high pitched shriek that escaped from the boy's throat as he was ripped from his hiding place.   
Struggling for all he was worth, the blue eyed child screamed out "NO!" But it went unnoticed as the large man tightened his   
hold and called out "Found him George!" Before walking over to his companions and throwing the child harshly to the ground.   
  
Ignoring the quietly sobbing boy, George the leader of the group leant down and roughly grabbed the boy's messy chocolate   
hair forcing Heero's tearful blue eyes to look into his own. Sneering at the sight the man spat "Pathetic" As he released   
his hold on the boy dropping the child once more to the ground. The man looked down at Heero, blonde wisps of hair gently  
swayed across his grey eyes as he coldly said "Hold him down boys, I'm gonna make him pay for insulting me earlier" Moving in   
closer the two other men tightly took hold of the child's thin arms, causing the boy to cry out in pain. Pulling out a small   
dagger from beneath his tunic, the blonde man said "This will teach you for not properly welcoming guests to the palace"   
With that said George slowly lowered the weapon to the child's throat. Grey eyes turned icy as a sadistic smile spread   
across his face "I'm gonna enjoy seeing you bleed boy"  
  
Closing his eyes in fear as the cold metal of the dagger made contact with his throat, Heero prayed silently for help when   
he felt the stinging pain of the blade piercing his skin. Just as the first traces of blood could be felt falling down the   
child's neck, the dagger and the hands which were holding him were gone and the sounds of weapons hastily being drawn could   
be heard. "What the hell do you want?!? Cant you see wer.." But whatever else the blonde man was going to say was cut short   
as the sound of two heavy thuds could be heard. Opening up his eyes out of curiosity, Heero looked on in shock at the sight   
before him. There sitting right in front of the young boy sat the severed head of his blonde attacker. Eyes that once looked   
at him icily, were now glazed over and frozen with a look of fear and surprised forever etched into them. Feeling a numb   
sensation begin to spread all over his body, the messy haired child slowly looked up to find a dark armoured figure standing   
over him with a large sword drawn.  
  
The two other attackers took a few steps backwards, attempting to put some distance between themselves and the new arrival.   
Fear coursed through each of their bodies at the sight of the armoured man as he took up a protective stance in front of the   
young child, his mustard coloured cape gently swaying behind him in the breeze. In an emotionless voice, the dark figure spoke   
up "Only death awaits those foolish enough to harm my little Jurei" The next moment the dark figure leapt forward with inhuman   
speed and slashed out violently with his jewel embedded sword. Two more heads were swiftly separated from their bodies and   
fell to the ground to join their comrades. Turning around the large sword in the dark figures hand disappeared, both were  
silent for a few minutes before the armoured man spoke up "You must leave here immediately my little Jurei, he is beginning   
to awaken and you are no longer safe" Suddenly a huge ball of fire descended from the sky above, engulfing the dark figure   
with its burning hot flame. Heero looked on in horror when the flame began to consume the armoured figure then quickly began   
to creep towards him, but before the child could stand the ground beneath him began to tremble forcing the blue eyed boy to   
stay seated.   
  
Invisible hands began to roam over his small body as soft mocking words ghosted past his ear in a language unknown to Heero.  
Black rain descended from the heavens causing steam to rise up on its impact with the flames but even with the water hitting  
it, the fire did not show any signs of dieing down. The three dead bodies on the ground, soon started to jerk and twitch back   
to life. Standing up on their feet again, the headless corpses walked slowly over to their respective heads and placed them   
back where they belonged. Loud cracks were heard too late through all the other noises, as the ground beneath Heero fell   
apart swallowing the boy up and sent him falling to the dark depths below.  
  
Hitting the ground with a hard thump the messy haired boy tried to scrambled up to his feet, but quickly found himself   
tumbling over something on the ground. Heero's blue eyed widened in horror when a sliver of light from above illuminated   
the floor beneath him and found himself to be completely surrounded with rotting human remains. The bones surrounding the   
young boy suddenly sprang up into the air and created a large cage around Heero. Eyes darting wildly around the dark cavern,   
the messy haired child gasped in shock when he spotted a pair of yellow eyes that were staring straight back at him from deep   
within the darkness of the cavern. "You will not escape from me this time my dear Jurei....and once I have you, I will make   
sure you never escape from me again" Came the whispered words from the creature.   
  
From out of the darkness a giant figure stepped out, with each step it took the light from above slowly began to reveal the   
creature before him. A pair of deep yellow eyes were imbedded within a copper fur human face, two jet black horns protruded   
out of either side of the creature's skull while a large golden horn was set proudly on top of its head. Looking away from the   
sight before him, the young boy felt his stomach turn at the sight of the creature's vile body. Large puss filled blisters   
covered the grey and green rotting flesh of the creature, as a line of the same thick copper fur that was on its face ran   
down the creature's back. Five large bone fingers came out of either side of the giant beast's back, each were covered with   
a thin leather strip of skin creating giant wings on its back. The creature's mouth parted to allow its slimy forked tongue   
out to swipe over its lips hungrily, while at the same time revealing the sharp fangs hidden within. A long thick tail   
whipped around behind the creature as it began to slowly advance towards the blue eyed boy. Frozen with fear, Heero could   
only sit there locked within his cage and watch helplessly as the vile creature drew closer.   
  
The creature extended out its clawed hands towards Heero but before it could get close enough to touch the child, a black   
light engulfed the young boy. From out of the light a deep voice came "You will never be able to have him Akujin, not so long   
as I am around" The light then struck out at the giant beast, attacking it straight in the chest. Taking a frustrated step   
backwards the vile creature let out an ear piercing howl before it shattered into a million pieces.   
  
Bolting straight up from his makeshift bed, Heero covered his face with his hands as the cool night air gently cooled his  
sweat covered skin. Panting loudly the blue eyed boy sort to control his heavy breathing before it woke the others. Lowering  
his hands down to his lap, Heero whispered out loud to himself "Akujin....masaka" Shaking his head in denial, Heero quickly   
got to his feet and silently walked out of the camp and in the direction of the beach. As he walked off, the messy haired boy  
was unaware of a pair of emerald eyes watching him silently with concern hidden within them.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes while yawning loudly, Duo sleepily looked around the camp then frowned 'Something's missing'  
The braided boy thought to himself. Taking another look around it finally dawned on him, the violet eyed boy jumped out of   
bed as he asked "Where's Heero?" Looking up from where he was polishing his crossbow, Trowa quietly said "He awoke a few   
hours ago" Seeing the slight look of panic in his friends violet eyes, he then quickly added "You can find him on the beach"   
Grinning at the banged boy, Duo cheerfully said "Thanks Tro-man" Before heading off in the direction of the shore.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
The sight that greeted the braided boy when he finally reached the beach was enough to take his breath away. There Heero sat   
on the white sand, his wild chocolate bangs swaying gently on the breeze. The sunlight danced over his tanned skin, causing   
the dark blue of his eyes to stand out even more than usual. His hands were resting in his lap as the blue eyed boy sat on   
the sand crossed legged. In front of the younger boy silently sat a flock of sea birds, Duo's arrival though caught their   
attention and soon enough the birds flew back into the air. It took the braided boy a few minutes to realise that Heero's   
intense blue eyes were now focused entirely on him. Feeling slightly uncomfortable under the younger boy's gaze, Duo awkwardly   
grinned and said "Morning Heero" As if some sort of trance was just broken, the blue eyed boy blinked a few times before he   
quietly muttered "Morning" Duo was slightly relieved when Heero's attention turned back to watching the waves. Taking a seat   
in the sand next to the messy haired boy, Duo joined him in watching the waves as they broke upon the shore.   
  
A few minutes of total silence passed between the two before the braided boy decided he couldn't take it any longer "So are   
you going to tell me where you're from?" Surprise and confusion were shown on Heero's face as he once again turned his   
attention off the water to faced the violet eyed boy. His intense Prussian eyes searched Duo's face for a short while as if   
they were trying to see if there were any hidden agenda's in the question. Still suspicious of the braided boy, Heero finally  
asked "Why do you want to know?" Another grin spread across Duo's face as he answered "Well it would be helpful to know,  
since I have decided on escorting you all the way back home" Heero raised an eyebrow at the other boys unexpected answer and   
with disbelief clearly in his voice, the blue eyed boy asked "You barely even know me, yet you offer your aid to a complete   
stranger?" Duo winked at Heero as he said "I don't just offer my help to anyone Heero, only the cute mysterious ones" Turning   
a few shades of red, the blue eyed boy muttered a quiet "Baka" While at the same time deciding that the sand looked like   
something interesting to look at.   
  
Leaning back on his hands, Duo's violet eyes carefully watched the messy haired boy as he asked once again "So where are you  
from?" Turning his attention to the sea once more, Heero answered "The temple of Amara" "Amara? I've never heard of that   
temple before. Which village is it in?" Asked the intrigued braided boy. Looking hesitant for a few seconds, Heero finally   
decided to answer the question "It isn't within any village, the temple of Amara is situated within the Holy Palace Enlizer"   
The blue eyed boy was surprised to see shock and disbelief written all over the other boys face. Opening and closing his   
mouth a few times, Duo attempted to say something.....anything, but found that not a single sound would come out.   
  
Taking the other boys silence as a negative response, Heero's Prussian eyes hardened as he got to his feet. In an emotionless  
voice he said "I would like thank both you and Trowa for your help, but it is best that I be on my way" Snapping out of his   
shock, Duo did the first thing that came to his mind and tightly grabbed the other boy's slim wrist as he quickly blurted out   
"No, don't leave. I'm sorry I was rude, I just never expected that to be you answer that's all" Fear and panic flashed in the   
messy haired boy's eyes as he looked down at his captured wrist before quickly pushed them aside, narrowing his eyes Heero   
asked "And why would that be?" Laughing nervously, Duo grinned as he said "Well you see not too many people outside of the   
royal palace have seen it, so Enlizer has become sort of legend. Most people nowadays believe that it's all just a fairy tail,   
you know like magic and dragons" Feeling himself relax again, Heero took a seat on the sand once more as he quietly said "Hn"  
Giving the younger boy a look, Duo simply said "You're not much of a talker are you?"   
  
Suddenly a sea bird landed right in front of the pair getting both of their attentions. Looking from one boy to another, the  
white bird took a hesitant step towards Heero while keeping a careful eye on the braided boy. Duo watched in astonishment as   
slowly the blue eyed boy reached out his hand and began to softly pat the bird. Not taking his Prussian eyes off the small   
creature, Heero quietly said "You can touch her if you like, don't worry she will not harm you" With a bewildered look on his   
face, Duo reached out his hand to copy what the younger boy was doing. As he gently began to run his fingers over the soft   
feathers a genuine smile began to spread across Duo's face, with his voice full of amazement all the braided boy could say   
was "Wow" Duo was so focused on the bird that he didn't notice it when his hand accidentally brushed over Heero's, causing the   
younger boy's hand to jerk away. He only came out of his thoughts when the bird suddenly flew away. Turning his attention   
away from the retreating creature, the braided boy noticed Heero's face had a slight pink tinge to it.   
  
Smiling to himself, Duo leant back on his hands again as he asked "So what is a priest doing so far from his temple all by  
himself? If you don't mind me asking" The violet eyed boy didn't miss the sudden tensing of the younger boy's body and raised   
an eyebrow in curiosity. Heero was silent for a few minutes before he replied "I'm not a priest" The blue eyed boy's voice was  
carried so softly over the wind, that Duo wasn't entirely sure that he had heard anything at all. "Not a Priest hmm......well   
are you some sort of choir boy or something then?" The small smile that he saw appear on Heero's face made the braided boy's   
heart begin to beat faster for some reason unknown to him. As quickly as it came, the smile disappeared as Heero answered   
again "I'm no choir boy either" Sitting up straight, the braided boy thought aloud "So if you're not a priest or a choir boy,   
then what exactly do you do then?" Turning to face Duo, Heero thought about his answer then replied "I translate the old texts   
given to us by the Gods" The blue eyed boy hoped that Duo didn't ask anymore questions about his duty for the temple, ever   
since he could remember he had been told that no other outside the temple and palace must ever know about his existence.   
"That's so cool, is that why you were out here travelling? I bet you would find heaps of interesting stuff to translate!"  
Sighing in relief, Heero thought it best to agree, so he just nodded his head in response.   
  
Thinking that he was safe from any more questions at least for little while, Heero let his guard down and began to relax. No  
sooner had he done that, the braided boy finally dropped the bombshell "So what's that mark on you forehead for anyway?" His  
entire body froze in fear as his mind rapidly processed plausible answers that would allow him to keep his secret. Finally   
after a few seconds Heero allowed his body to slowly relax as he calmly answered "This mark simply symbolizes my duty within   
the temple" After receiving an understanding "Ahh" The pair just sat there in silence listening to the waves roll onto the   
shore until Trowa's voice broke the silence "Breakfast is ready if anyone is interested" The mention of food brought a huge   
grin to the braided boys face as he eagerly bounced to his feet saying "Its about time, I'm starving!" Rolling his visible   
emerald eye as Duo ran by him, Trowa carefully studied Heero before saying "Duo will eat all the food if you do not hurry,   
we wont be able to eat again until we reach the next village" Nodding his head in acknowledgement the blue eyed boy couldn't   
help the smile appearing on his face as he heard the braided boy's loud whine "Not rabbit again!"  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
For the past few hours it had just been the three of them walking towards their destination, with only the occasional sound   
of Duo's voice breaking through the silence. During their journey, Heero had slowly began to relax around the other two,   
knowing that for the moment he was safe from those who had wanted to kidnap him. The blue eyed boy's relaxed nature rapidly   
disappeared though the moment when the trio ventured into the village, as more people began to fill up the dirt roads around   
them. Without realising what he was doing, Heero unconsciously began inching closer to the braided boy.  
  
Chickens scurried all along the dirt road as the three boys passed many stalls filled with rice, grain and various vegetables.   
Ignoring all the sellers, the boys made their way to the centre of the village to decide on their best course of action.   
Trying hard to hide his nervousness, Heero couldn't help but glare at himself when he heard the braided boy say "You look beat  
Heero, why don't you go and get us a room at the local inn while Tro-man and I finish our business" Throwing a small brown   
leather pouch, the blue eyed boy easily caught it as Duo said "There should be more than enough there for you to get us a   
room each, we wont be too long" Before Heero could utter a single word, he found himself alone. Looking all around him, the   
messy haired boy let out a sigh of frustration as he said to himself "Like I really know where the inn is" Pushing aside  
the feeling of helplessness, Heero decided that any direction was good enough, then turned and walked down the road opposite   
to the one that Duo and Trowa had taken.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~   
  
  
"You sure it's them? I mean I thought there were only suppose to be two of them, so who's the other brat then?" A figure cloaked  
in darkness regarded the speaker in front of him before looking over in the direction where three boys stood in the middle   
of the village. A frown crossed the mans shadowed face as he said "Who he is does not matter, it is Shinigami and the Silencer   
who are your target. Our master can not have them meddling in his plans any longer. They are beginning to get too close   
and we can no longer afford to keep them alive if our masters plan is to be put into motion" Seeing the two targets separate   
from the unknown boy, the dark figure quickly spoke up again "Keep a close eye on them, once they leave the village I want   
them disposed off" A maniacal grin spread across the others face as he said "It would be my pleasure boss, As soon as they get   
far enough from the village, my men and I will get rid of them once and for all" "Make sure you do, you know what the price   
of failure is" The cloaked figure said right before he disappeared into thin air.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
While trying to find the way to the inn, Heero thought back to what he remembered of his kidnapping. The leader of the men   
he was certain was the same one he and Wufei had bumped into earlier within the palace, but what confused him more was the   
fact that he came upon the same ship that Duke Noventa was on. They had never had problems from any of the visiting Sanq   
representatives or their crew before, but just as that thought went through his mind a cold shiver passed through his body   
as Heero remembered his dream. Shaking his head, the blue eyed boy ignored the memory as it tried once again to resurface.   
  
The sound of a child crying broke Heero out of his thoughts. Looking over in the direction of the noise, he saw a little girl  
on the ground holding her knee. His first thoughts were to just let it go and continue to the inn, but the quieting sobs of  
the young child quickly broke down his resistance and finally he gave in. "Daijoubu?" The blue eyed boy asked quietly as he  
knelt down next to the little girl. Teary hazel eyes looked straight into his own as the young girl sobbed "I fell over and   
hurt my knee" Turning his attention down to the injury, emotionless eyes softened slightly as they saw thin trickles of blood  
seeping through her little fingers. Coming to a decision Heero looked back up to the little girls face as he asked "Would you  
like for me to make it better?" A tearful nod was all that he got for an answer and without wasting any more time Heero said  
"Could you remove your hands" Reluctantly the young girl's hands left the wound as more blood began to spill from the injury.  
Placing one of his hands on the wound while the other went to wipe a tear from the girls face, Heero softly said "Do not   
worry, the pain will be gone soon" Closing her eyes in an anticipation to more pain, the girl's quiet sobs were all that   
could be heard. Not long after white spots of light began to appear around Heero's hand as slowly the wound began to heal   
itself. In a matter of seconds, the injury had been completely healed.  
  
Feeling no more pain, the young girl cracked open one red rimmed hazel eye and looked down at her knee. Surprise was written  
all over her face as she found it to be completely healed. Moving her leg up and down a large smile appeared on her face as  
she happily said "Arigato onii-chan" Looking at the young girl oddly for a moment, Heero chose to ignore what she called him  
and helped the girl to her feet. Thinking that his job was done, Heero turned to leave but his blue eyes widened in surprise  
as he felt a small hand clasp onto his own. He looked down at the little blonde girl as she said "So where are we off too  
Onii-chan?" Heero raised a thin eyebrow at the sudden turn of events as he simply asked "Excuse me?" Smiling brightly the   
young girl giggled happily as she said "Silly Onii-chan, I said where are we going" Not knowing how to handle this situation   
Heero was about to suggest going their separate ways, but that was until he found himself looking into her dancing eyes and   
saying "I need to find the inn" Without releasing his hand, she began dragging him off down one of the many dirt streets as   
she said "I'll show you where it is, then when we can play" Realising that whatever he said or did would not deter the young   
girl away from following him, Heero sighed in defeat and allowed the blonde to drag him along.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"Another dead end.....seriously I don't know how much longer I can take this Tro!" The violet eyed boy stated as he kicked   
over a broken chair on the floor of an abandoned hut near the outskirts of the village. Turning one visible eye to his   
companion, Trowa calmly asked "Are you giving up then?" Sighing loudly the braided boy put his hands behind his head as he  
said "There's no way in hell I'm giving up on this until I get my revenge......Its just that all these dead ends really blow"  
With a satisfied look in his eyes, the banged boy said "That's good to hear, because we are being watched" Cursing silently to  
himself, Duo casually looked over his shoulder and out the window to find two figures attempting to bend in unsuccessfully  
with the shadows "Damn it, I wonder why I didn't notice them before....must be loosing my touch" With a hint of humour in his  
voice, Trowa casually said "Maybe because this time you have been distracted by a pair of blue eyes?" Choosing to ignore the  
comment, violet eyes darkened as Duo said "Should we take care of them now Tro?" Shaking his head, the banged boy calmly said  
"No, we will wait"   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Attempting to get his land legs back as he walked unsteadily off the ship, Wufei made his way as quietly as possible past the  
few sailors and guards that were scattered all over the place. The gold circlet glittered in the sunlight from the position   
around the Chinese boy's head. The jewel effectively covered Shenlong's mark on his forehead, which Wufei was greatly pleased   
about. The raven haired boy had also noticed that ever since he placed the circlet on top of his head, he had been feeling   
a faint tugging in his mind telling him to go west. Smiling to himself, Wufei was very glad to know that the circlet did   
actually do what it was said. Stealthily making his way past the few guards, Wufei successfully made it through the port   
undetected. Now in the main streets of the capital of Sanq, the raven haired boy kept to the back streets as he made his way   
to the west gate not noticing the tiny shadow that followed close behind him.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
The sight that greeted the pair as they entered the inn left them both completely speechless. There sitting on one of the  
wooden benches was Heero, but what shocked them into stunned silence were the bright pink ribbons that were tied into a bow  
in his chocolate hair. It was the look on the younger boys face though that really put the whole scene into perspective.  
Sitting there with his arms crossed across his chest, his face was set into a tight frown with the occasional look of pain   
flashing each time the young girl sitting on the table behind him tugged too hard on his hair. The sight of the usually   
stoic boy sitting there with pink ribbons all in his hair was too much for the braided boy to take. Unable to hold it in any   
longer, Duo clutched his sides as laughter erupted from his mouth. A cough from beside him that suspiciously sounded like a   
laugh was barley heard above his own.   
  
Glaring at the pair for all that he was worth, Heero growled low in his throat as Duo caught his breath long enough to say   
"Hey there Hee-chan, I must say that pink is really your colour" Heero was about to say something right before the braided   
boy could erupt into another round of uncontrollable laughter, but another voice beat him to it "Leave my Onii-chan alone you  
big meanies!" To everyone's surprise, the young girl then took up a protective stance in front of Heero. The trio stared at  
the child in silence until Heero softly said "Thankyou Elly, but it's ok" Turning her glare away from the two still shocked   
boys, Elly unhappily said "But they were being mean to you onii-chan" Smiling softly at the little blonde, Heero placed his   
hand on top of her head as he said "Its getting late, I think your parents will start worrying if you do not return soon"   
Looking back and forth between Heero and the other two boys, the little blonde sighed in defeat as she unhappily said "I   
guess you're right" Within the next split second her mood changed as she bounced towards the large double doors. Before she   
ran past them, Elly turned around and finally said "Seeya later Onii-chan" Then left the inn.  
  
Taking out the ribbons one by one while glaring at the two older boys as they took a seat before him, Heero narrowed his   
eyes further as he darkly said "If I hear one thing about this from either of you...omae o korosu!" Scrunching up his face   
in an effort not to laugh, it took the braided boy a few moments to calm down enough to ask "So why did you let her do it to   
you in the first place then Hee-chan?" Raising an eyebrow at the nickname, Heero carefully placed the ribbon on the table   
before attacking the next. After a moment of thought the blue eyed boy replied "She asked if I wanted to play with her"   
Shrugging his shoulders Heero continued "And I didn't have anything better to do while I waited for the two of you, so I   
accepted. I did not realise her version of play was to decorate my hair with those things though" He finished by pointing his   
finger at the innocent looking ribbons. Duo grinned at the younger boy's answer, while Trowa's mouth formed into a slight   
smile.  
  
As if just remembering, Heero turned his glare from the ribbons to the braided boy and growled out "That reminds me, Hee-chan?"  
Duo just grinned at the younger boy as he said "After seeing how cute you looked with those pink ribbons in your hair, how  
could I call you anything else but Hee-chan?" Once again a pink tinge spread across the blue eyed boy's face as he quietly  
questioned "I'm never going to live that down am I?" Placing his arm around Heero's shoulder, Duo gave him a firm squeeze as  
he continued grinning "Not as long as I'm around you wont"  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"How many?" Calm emerald eyes surveyed the inns dinning room, scanning each of the occupied wooden tables. Eyeing each person  
carefully, Trowa's green gaze turned back to Duo as he answered "Three as far as I can see, probably more elsewhere though"   
Standing up and stretching, the braided boy cheerfully announced "I better go and check on Heero, who knows what trouble he's  
gotten himself into without me there" Turning around, Duo strolled past all the other tables and headed straight for the   
staircase at the other end of the room. Rolling his eyes, Trowa leant back and waited patiently for their return.  
  
Knocking on the thick wooden door, Duo loudly asked "Hey Hee-chan, you ready for dinner?" When he didn't receive a reply, the   
braided boy frowned then slowly opened the door. Peering into the dark room the sound of soft whimpering instantly caught   
Duo's attention. He quickly ran over to the bed where a figure restlessly slept curled up into a fetal position. Kneeling   
down next to the bed, Duo gently took hold of one of Heero's hands while his other went to brush the sweet soaked bangs away   
from his eyes. In a soothing voice the violet eyed boy quietly said "Hey Hee-chan, its time to wake up" Slowly Heero's eyes   
lids fluttered open to revel confused Prussian orbs. In the same soothing tone Duo said "Hey there Hee-chan it was just a   
nightmare, you're safe" After seeing the boy slowly begin to relax, the braided boy asked "Do you want to tell me about it?"   
Looking up to see warm violet orbs above him, Heero turned his head away as he quietly said "No" A little disappointed at the   
younger boys answer, Duo replaced his slight frown with a grin and said "Alright then but you better get ready though, cause   
its dinner time and I'm starving" Still not looking at the older boy, Heero silently got out of bed and walked over to where   
he had placed his cape. Fastening it back around his neck, the blue eyed boy then walked out of the room without so much as   
a sound. Worried violet eyes watched every moment of Heero's retreat, before following not long after.   
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Heero was startled out of his sleep when he felt a hand cover his mouth. Instantly awake the blue eyed boy was about to   
struggle when he heard a familiar voice whisper in his hear "Its just me Hee-chan" When the hand retreated from Heero's mouth,  
the younger boy asked "What are you doing in my room this early in the morning?" Though the room was still dark, the blue  
eyed boy could just feel the grin spread across the others face as he replied "Time to leave Hee-chan" Frowning to himself,  
Heero's brows knitted together as he asked "Why so early though? The sun hasn't even begun to rise yet" Duo bent down next to  
the boy and gently slapped him on the back a couple of times as he said "I just thought that you would be wanting to get back  
to the temple as soon as possible that's all..... its not like you need the beauty sleep or anything Hee-chan" For who knows  
how many times since their meeting, Heero blushed once more at Duo's words as he quietly said "I'm not beautiful" Absentmindedly  
Duo answered "Sure you're not" While he gathered up the younger boys clothing then handed them to him "Are the two of you   
ready?" Asked Trowa as he silently slipped into Heero's room. Giving his thumbs up, the braided boy grinned as he said "Just  
waiting for Hee-chan to get dressed, then we're good to go" Nodding his head in approval, the banged boy was thankful that  
the room was still dark enough to hide his smile as Heero grumpily said "Stop calling me that!"   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
They were half a day's travel from the village when the trio decided to sit and rest, before continuing on with their journey.   
Stretching his arms out, Duo sat himself down on the ground and said "Man I can't believe we travelled this far already, if   
we keep this up we should be in Sanq within the next few days" Yawning loudly, the braided boy said "I'm gonna take a little  
nap, anyone care to join me?" Looking hopefully over toward the blue eyed boy, Duo was not in the least bit surprised to see  
Heero looing anywhere else but at him. Picking up his crossbow along with a few bolts, Trowa calmly began walking off as he   
said "I'm going to find us something to eat" Heero decided it best just to ignore the braided baka and walked over to a   
shady spot beneath a tree, just as he was about to sit down a large blur dropped down from the branches.   
  
The sound of the younger boys gasp got both Duo and Trowa's attention, turning in the direction of the noise an angry growl   
escaped from Duo's throat at the sight before him. Standing behind Heero holding a large dagger to the blue eyed boys neck,   
stood a tall hooded figure. Before Duo or Trowa could do anything, seven more men suddenly appeared out of nowhere. With a   
hint of satisfaction in his voice, the hooded figure spoke "Its nice to finally be able to meet you Shinigami" Looking over   
to the banged boy, the man casually added "You too Silencer" Heero's blue eyes widened with fear at the mention of the name   
Shinigami, but before he could think more of it he found someone was quickly binding his hands together. The men surrounding   
the other two quickly disarmed them before tying Duo and Trowa's arms and legs with rope. With a voice barely suppressing   
his rage, Duo icily said "If you even think about hurting Heero, I will kill each and every one of you" From all around the  
captives, the group of attackers laughed. Still holding his hostage, the hooded man finished his laughing then said seriously  
"Play time is over" And with the blade in his hand, the man threw it at the braided boy. The large dagger embedded itself   
deeply into Duo's chest, causing his violet eyes to widen in surprise. With a cry of pain, Duo's body slumped to the floor   
while a river of blood began to spill uncontrollably from the wound. With a satisfied smirk, the hooded man turned his   
attention to Trowa as he said "You're next to go Silencer"   
  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
  
  
Notes: Now before I run and hide I want to give a big thanks once again to Pink Cherry Blossom, Ladye Black, GoldenRat,   
Yume Maxwell-Yuy, CinC, x1-TaKeN-oVeR, tenshiamanda, Konpeitou, Emily Hato, Black-Winged Angel, Ashly, sapphire angel,   
shinchansgirl, Aasae, kt, :), Kyra, ShadowEyedCat and japanese blader girl for all your great reviews, I'm so happy that   
you all like this story ^_^ 


	4. Shadow Dancing

Title: Between Darkness and Light - Shadow Dancing  
Pairings: 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4, H+2, R+1, M+5, 13+6, past 6+9  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all additional characters are mine though.  
Warnings: Shounen Ai, slight OOC, violence   
  
  
A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed: Heero's 15, Duo's 18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18   
and Wufei's 16.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~ = Change of scene  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Everything seemed to happen so quickly, one second there was a sharp blade pressed tightly up against his throat. The next   
it was gone and Duo was crying out in pain shortly before slumping down to the ground. Dull blue eyes were fixed on the   
braided boys fallen form as Heero silently witnessed the scene unfolding before him. With a strange sense of detachment,   
Heero watched without blinking as a pool of blood quickly stained the dirt around Duo a dark red colour. He couldn't hear or   
feel anything, his body slowly began going numb to everything around him. Without realising what he was doing, Heero began to  
repeatedly whispered the word "No" Right before his body began to shake softly.  
  
Feeling the boy within his arms begin to tremble, the hooded assassin took his attention off of Trowa as he harshly said "Fine!  
You can't seem to stay still so I'll take care of you first!" Reaching into his cloak with his free hand, the assassin quickly   
withdrew another dagger, this one smaller than his last and raised it into the air. Not wasting any time, the dagger came   
down in one swift motion towards the unresponsive boy. Before the blade was about to strike though, the hooded assassin soon   
found his hand to be restrained motionless by another. Taking his dark eyes off his hostage, the attacker growled in annoyance   
as he saw a dark armoured figure towering before him. Both the blade and Heero fell from the assassins grasp as he attempted   
to free himself from the others tight grip. Each attempt though only seemed to cause the attacker more pain, as his captors   
grip continually tightened with each try. A shriek of pain was heard all around as the bones within the assassin's wrist   
slowly began to grind against one another. It wasn't long after until another painful cry was heard along with the sound of   
a loud crack, indicating to all around that the assassins wrist was now surely broken. Everything was quiet apart from the   
painful whimpers from the hooded man, but soon enough they were replaced by chocking noises as the armoured man shot out with   
his free hand and gripped the assassin by the throat. Effortlessly lifting the man into the air with one hand, the dark   
figure said in a cold voice "Sayonara" And quickly began tightening his hold around the assassin's neck.  
  
From his position on the ground, Trowa's emerald eyes widened in both fear and shock at the sight of Heero's attacker  
hovering just above the ground with no logical reason as to how it was being done. Confused by the sight, Trowa quickly   
turned his attention over to where Heero sat and was surprised to see the younger boy staring at the empty area just in front  
of the floating man. Checking to see how their other attackers were handling the situation, the banged boy became even more  
confused to find that every single one of the assassins were bone white and staring in the exact same spot as Heero. The  
sound of a sickening crack brought Trowa's attention quickly back to Heero's attacker just in time to see his body that was   
still hovering in the air go limp, signifying to all that he was now most certainly dead.  
  
At the sound of the loud crack the assassins broke out of their shock, each took out their weapons just before leaping into   
attack the dark figure. Not releasing the fresh corpse from his tight grasp, the armoured man raised his free hand a moment   
before a large jewel embedded sword appeared within it. Quickly bringing up the weapon in front of his body as he spun around,   
the dark figure easily parried the first attack right before violently thrusting his sword forward into his attacker's stomach.   
Nimbly leaping over the fallen assassin the armoured man easily blocked another attack aimed at him, then quickly ran his   
sword through his targets chest. Seeing four of the remaining five assassins attempting to surround him, with his sword still   
embedded within his last victim's chest he swung out violently to his left tearing his weapon free from the corpse then   
continued swinging his sword around in a full circle. Painful gasps could be heard one after the other as each of the four   
attackers received a fatal wound across the chest. Before even one of them had hit the ground, the dark figure sped past   
them with inhuman speed. While still holding Heero's dead attacker within his grasp he darted towards the last living   
assassin. After witnessing how easily all of his comrades were disposed of, the remaining assassin turned around in an attempt   
to flee. Even with the distance between them though, the dark figure continued forward and quickly closed the gap between the   
two. With one final thrust of his sword, the remaining assassin cried out in pain before collapsing dead to the ground.  
  
Standing over the fallen assassin with Heero's attacker still held tightly within his grasp, the armoured man just stood   
there silently for a few moments staring into the others glazed over eyes. With his next movement, the dark figure threw his   
arm out to the side while releasing his hold on the body. The corpse flew quickly through the sky and didn't stop until it   
hit a nearby tree with a sickening thud before sliding lifelessly down to the ground. The sword disappeared from his hand as   
the armoured man walked over to where the blue eyed boy sat and bent down in front of him. Gently grabbing Heero's chin, he   
forced the unresponsive boy to look straight at him. With a wave of his free hand both Heero and Trowa's bonds vanished.   
Seeing a pair of dull eyes before him, the dark figure growled softly and said "I will destroy all those who dare to cause   
you any harm my little Jurei" Before disappearing into a cloud of thin black smoke.  
  
Feeling the restraints had suddenly disappeared, Trowa wasted no time and quickly ran over to Duo's fallen form. Turning his  
friends body over, the banged boy almost grimaced at the sight of the amount of blood Duo had already lost. Pulling the dagger  
from the braided boy chest, Trowa's usually emotionless face was replaced with one of worry and helplessness as he attempted  
to stop the bleeding. Using all of his control to stay calm, the green eyed boy looked over his shoulder to where Heero sat,   
and found the boy still staring off into space. Needing help Trowa called out "Heero" But he got no response at all from the   
younger boy. Knowing he was quickly running out of time if there was to be any hope in saving Duo's life, Trowa stood up and   
ran over towards Heero. Quickly slapping the younger boy hard across the face, the usually quiet boy yelled "HEERO!" This   
time he was rewarded with a response as a hand shot up to rub the reddened cheek. Roughly grabbing Heero's hand, Trowa lifted   
the boy to his feet and began dragging him while saying "If I'm going to save Duo's life, I'm going to need your help" As   
Heero heard Duo's name, his blue eyes widened slightly as he said "But he is Shinigami..." Releasing his hold on Heero, Trowa   
knelt down next to the braided boy and quietly said "He may go by that name, but if we don't do something right now he will   
be meeting the real Shinigami" Staring at the banged boy in shock Heero softly said "Meet the real Shinigami" Looking down at   
Duo's pale face, Heero thought to himself 'So if Duo's not the real Shinigami, then that means....' Rolling his green eyes   
in frustration, Trowa impatiently said "Yes Heero as in the God Shinigami, now are you going to help me save him or not?"   
  
Looking deep within Trowa's calm green eyes, Heero could easily see the fear and worry hidden deep within them. Coming to a  
quick decision Heero finally nodded as he said "Move aside, let me handle this" Rasing an eyebrow in curiosity and doubt,  
Trowa reluctantly left Duo's side and allowed Heero to take over his position. His green eyes watched every movement the  
younger boy made like a hawk as Heero tore open Duo's blood soaked tunic. He was surprised when all Heero did after that was  
place one of his hands over the wound but decided to wait and see what the blue eyed boy had installed. Seeing that nothing  
was happening, Trowa was just about to suggest he take over but it died even before it reached his throat as white specks of   
light began forming beneath Heero's hand. The banged boy watched on in open amazement as soon after, Heero's entire body   
slowly began to emanate a soft white light that slowly began to cover Duo's still body also. Minutes passed in absolute   
silence as Duo's wound slowly began to mend itself, then began to fade away as if he was never injured to begin with.   
Eventually the light surrounding the pair disappeared and Heero slumped down on top of Duo's body unconscious.  
  
The sound of coughing drew Trowa's attention from Heero to Duo and his emerald eyes widened in surprise a the braided boy  
easily sat up coughing up the last traces of blood that had entered his lungs. Disoriented violet orbs opened slightly to  
find Heero's unconscious body within his lap. Forgetting all about the wound he received moments before, Duo quickly gathered  
Heero's limp form into his arms as he cried out "Heero?!?" Worried violet eyes looked up franticly into emerald as Duo   
demanded "What happened to him?" Trowa shook himself out of his shock as he asked "Duo......you're alright?" Glaring at the   
banged boy, Duo angrily said "Heero's out cold and all you can ask is if I'm alright?! What the hells wrong with you Tro?"   
Blinking in surprise, Trowa ignored Duo's angry outburst and knelt down next to the braided boy. Feeling a hand run along his   
bare chest, Duo raised an eyebrow as he asked "And what do you think you're doing? This isn't the time to start feeling me up   
Tro...there's something seriously wrong with Heero!" Once again ignoring what the braided boy was saying, Trowa continued   
inspecting Duo's chest as he quietly said in awe "It's completely healed.....unbelievable" Shifting Heero's body so that his   
head lay upon the braided boy's lap, with one of his free hands Duo grabbed Trowa's face and forced the banged boy to look at   
him. With annoyance clearly in his voice, Duo asked "What on earth are you talking about?" Snapping back to reality, Trowa   
calmly said "Your wound Duo, it's been completely healed" Duo blinked a few times until what Trowa had said finally sunk in,   
quickly turning his attention down to his chest the braided boy said "Oh yeah I forgot about that....how the hell did that   
happen?" Turning his gaze down to the unconscious boy, Trowa quietly said "It was Heero who did it, he some how healed your   
wound" With surprise in his voice, Duo looked down at the unconscious boy in his lap as he said "Heero?"  
  
Looking at the area all around them, Duo's violet eyes widened in shock as he ran his gaze over each of the mutilated bodies.  
Gently placing Heero on the ground, the braided boy tore off the rest of his tunic then placed it underneath the younger   
boys head. Standing up and stretching, Duo walked over to the nearest body and knelt down to inspect it. Running his fingers   
over the deep chest wound, he quietly wondered "What the hell happened to them?" Turning around to face Trowa, Duo asked "Did   
you do this Tro?" Closing the distance between the two, the banged boy knelt down next to his friend as he said "No, and I   
honestly can't tell you who did either" Turning his attention back to the corpse, Duo began to search the body in an attempt  
to find any clue as to who they were. While beginning to check the pockets, Duo asked "So tell me what you know then"   
Mimicking Duo's action, Trowa began checking the upper area of the body while he told Duo all that he saw.   
  
Duo was frowning by the time Trowa finished the story, he stopped his search and asked "It seems that we have another player   
in this game, do you think this guy can be trusted?" Looking Duo straight in the eye, Trowa said "I don't think you understand   
me Duo, there was nothing there to indicate that there was a person killing them. To me they all seemed to be attacking thin   
air, but looking at the results there obviously was someone there all along" Looking over his shoulder at the unconscious boy,   
Duo asked "What about Heero?" Sighing loudly, the banged boy said "Judging from his reaction, I would guess that he did see   
the other fighter" Sitting down on the ground, Duo leaned back on his hands as he thought out loud "So Heero could see him   
and obviously so could these assassins.....why couldn't you I wonder?" Joining Duo on the ground, Trowa thoughtfully said   
"That I can not tell you, maybe we will understand more when Heero wakes"  
  
The pair sat there in silence for a few minutes, each alone with their own thoughts. Feeling that something wasn't sitting   
right, Duo asked "It doesn't make sense, why didn't this guy or whatever he is kill any of us then?" When he saw Trowa raise   
an eyebrow at the question he continued "I mean obviously he pretty powerful if he can take out all these trained assassins   
all by himself, why did he stop there? Its not like taking us out would have been much more trouble. And if what you say   
about Heero seeing who this guy was is true, wouldn't it be in his best interest to silence him about it? Also, why help us   
in the first place? Its not like we can say thanks or somehow repay him, cause we don't even know what the guy looks like"   
Trowa thought hard over Duo's question before saying "You're right it doesn't make sense, are you suggesting that who ever   
killed these men and Heero are some how connected?" Shaking his head the braided boy said "I'm not saying anything, but if   
they are somehow connected then we probably don't have anything to worry about....but if there is no connection between them   
and this guy decides to attack us, I don't think we would stand a chance"   
  
While deep in thought Duo's violet gaze ran over the corpse lying before them, it was then that he noticed a hint of gold   
glittering beneath the large tear of the dead man's leather armour. Lifting up the torn part of leather with one hand, with   
his other he reached in and came in contact with something small, flat and round. Getting a firm grip on the object Duo   
pulled hard and he easily broke the object from the chain it was on. His violet eyes narrowed in anger as they sighted what   
looked to be a serpent curled around a human heart, in a voice full of anger Duo spat "The Serpent Guild" The braided boy   
quickly stood up and began to pace back on forth. Dark violet eyes turned to look hard at Trowa as Duo said "This is not good   
Tro....not good at all, that bastard must be getting desperate if he's hiring assassins from the Serpent Guild to come after   
us" Dusting himself off as he stood, Trowa calmly said "Yes...and if that's true, then we must be getting closer" The braided   
boy stopped his pacing and turned to face his friend again as he said "I didn't think of it like that....what are we going to   
do?" Coming to stand in front of Duo, the banged boy answered "After we take Heero to Sanq, then we can worry about what we're  
going to do"   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
In the distance a caped figure silently watched in morbid fascination as the seven assassins began attacking thin air shortly   
before one by one they fell to the ground lifeless. Emotionless green eyes widened slightly at the sight of the younger boy's   
action afterwards as he along with his fallen companion began to softly glow with a white light. A large grin made its way   
across his face as he said to himself "Now this is interesting" Carefully watching as the braided boy sat up without so much   
as a scratch on him the man added "Very interesting indeed" Tightening his fist around a small pendant held within, the caped   
man suddenly disappeared then reappeared once again in a clearing a safe distance away from where his targets were.   
  
The caped man removed the hood from over his head to reveal short blonde hair, his green eyes quickly scanned the immediate  
area and was glad to find that his only company was the horse he travelled with. Still holding the pendant tightly within his  
hand, the blonde man then made invisible gestures in the air shortly before a small rift appeared in front of him. Within the  
rift the dark silhouette of a person appeared, in a smooth voice the figure said "This had better be good Odin for at the   
moment I am in a foul mood" In a calm voice Odin said "I must regret to inform you master that both Shinigami and the Silencer   
both still live" The shadowy figure within the rift sighed softly as he said "This is disappointing indeed...I was hoping for   
some good news for once" Rasing an eyebrow Odin asked "Still no news on the loss of your treasure?" Sighing once again the   
figure replied "Unfortunately no" Smirking slightly the assassin then said "Well I might have some information that might   
cheer you up master" With curiosity in his voice, the shadowy figure said "Go on" A sinister smile spread across the blonde   
mans face as he continued "Shinigami and the Silencer had one other travelling with them this time, and I believe it was   
because of him that my men failed" Odin then quickly spoke of everything that he saw and by the time he got to the end of his   
story, his master spoke "I want that boy alive and unharmed Odin, you may do as you wish to Shinigami and the Silencer but if   
there is so much as a scratch on the boy....I will personally see you put to death. Do you understand?" Bowing slightly the   
blonde assassin replied "Perfectly master" Happy with the answer, the shadowy figure warned "Do not act too hastily on this   
matter either, I suggest waiting until they have let down their guard before attempting his capture. Keep your distance also,   
if either Shinigami or the Silencer sense you following, all will be lost" After that was said the small rift disappeared.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"Kuso!" Wufei cursed to himself as he ducked into yet another alleyway set in between long rows of tall sandstone buildings,   
all the while praying it took him close to where the west gate should be. Quickly hiding in the shadows, the Chinese boy   
attempted to get his breath back while he heard the approaching footsteps of his perusers. As their steps came to a halt   
somewhere near his hiding place, Wufei sank back further into the shadows as he heard one of them say "The brat couldn't have   
gotten to far away. You three check down that alley, you two come with me" Peering out from his hiding place, onyx eyes   
narrowed in frustration and anger as they spotted three figures slowly making their way towards him. Silently cursing his bad   
luck once again, the Chinese boy quietly got to his feet and descended deeper into the alleyway.  
  
Wufei turned the corner when he got to the end of the alley and came face to face with a tall grey stone wall. Looking   
quickly from side to side, the Chinese boy's face almost split into a grin when he sighted a few crates nearby that were   
stacked just high enough to allow him to jump over the tall wall. Wufei thought 'Perfect' While he dashed over to them but   
before he could reach the crates a small shiny object flew straight by the left side of his face just barely missing him.   
From behind him an irritated voice spoke up "You've lead us on quite a chase here boy" Turning around Wufei's eyes narrowed   
as he sighted three large men making their way towards him. A noise to his left alerted the Chinese boy to his other three   
perusers approach. The man who had spoken earlier took a step forward and removed a short sword from the belt hanging around   
his waist. Aiming it towards Wufei, he said "We were only going to steal that pretty circlet up there on you head and probably   
what ever gold you had on you....but since you made us chase you over half of this damn city, I think you deserve to be   
beaten up a little to repay us for our effort" Taking out his own katana in response Wufei held it up before him while he   
safely placed his travel bag behind him, then answered "I do not have the time for these meaningless games of yours, let us   
begin this so I can quickly finish you and be on my way"  
  
Laughing the thief leapt forward and slashed out with his sword. Easily blocking the attack, Wufei jumped backwards, then   
using all of his strength pushed off of the crates behind him to launch his own attack against his opponent. The thief   
attempted to move out of the way when Wufei thrusted his katana toward him but was too slow. The Chinese boy was rewarded   
with a painful gasp as his weapon pierced the thief's right arm. Quickly turning around to face his opponent once again,   
Wufei raised his weapon and stood there silently waiting for the other man to make a move.  
  
Hushed whispers could be heard all around the area, but they went unnoticed by the two opponents as they both eyed each other   
wearingly. Ignoring his bleeding arm, the thief raised his short sword, then took a quick glance over to his men. Turning his  
gaze back to Wufei, the large man charged forward with his weapon held high. Just as Wufei successfully block the next attack,   
the Chinese boy caught movement to his right. Without anymore warning a fist suddenly connected with his jaw, sending Wufei  
falling down to the ground. His katana flew out of his grasp and slid across the paving and out of his reach. Turning his  
attention back to his attackers, Wufei's eyes narrowed in anger when he found a sword pointing down at him. In a voice barely  
suppressing his anger, Wufei spat "You thieves have no honour if you have to resort to such cowardly means to win your battles!"  
From all around him the thieves burst into a round of laughter, until the one holding the weapon said "We have our guilds   
honour, that is all the honour we need" An evil smirk appeared on his face as his attacker added "Now its time for you to pay   
up boy" But before he could even move an inch, a thin funnel of flame shot out of the sky and hit the blade the thief was   
holding. The thief quickly dropped the red hot weapon and fell backward with his attempt.   
  
That was all the distraction Wufei needed as he leapt up to his feet and before any of his attackers knew what was going on   
he was already behind the one closest to him. Quickly knocking the thief on the back of the head, Wufei was behind yet   
another one even before the first fell to the ground unconscious. As the next thief turned around to see what was happening,   
he too met the same fate as the first two. A sharp shriek was heard from up in the sky as a small flying creature dove down   
and buried its fangs deeply into one of Wufei's attackers arms, causing the said man so cry out in pain. But before the only   
thief left standing could lend a hand, Wufei had swiftly taken care of him also. Finally silencing the screaming man, Wufei   
ran over to where his opponent sat wide eyed on the ground. Towering over the shocked man Wufei coldly said "I told you I   
didn't have time for these games" Shortly before knocking the remaining thief unconscious.  
  
Before the Chinese boy could even turn around, an angry voice hissed "I should have let that thief kill you for leaving me  
behind Chang!" Turning around to face the speaker, Wufei calmly asked "What are you doing here Nataku?" Pinning Wufei with  
her furious red gaze she answered "You had some nerve leaving me behind, we haven't been separated more than a few hours   
since our birth sixteen years ago....did you really expect me not to notice your absence?" Snorting loudly the small dragon   
added "And as soon as I found out what you were planning in that thick skull of yours, I decided that you would need my help   
in getting the Jurei back" Smiling at the little green dragon, Wufei said "Thankyou Nataku...and I apologize for leaving you   
behind" Accepting his apology, Nataku flew up and sat on Wufei's shoulder. The pair looked down at all the unconscious   
thieves around them before Wufei quickly picked his discarded bag and katana. Heading over to the stacked crates Wufei   
stopped a minute and said "We've wasted enough time here, I can sense that Heero's not too far away" The distant sound of   
clanking armour could be heard as Wufei quickly climbed the crates and easily scaled the large wall.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
It was early evening when Heero finally woke up to the sounds of hooves softly padding the ground and the quiet conversation  
between his travelling companions. With a barely suppressed groan he attempted to sit up, but was forced to lie back down   
again as a wave of dizziness washed over him. Nearby he heard Duo's voice as he cheerfully said "I was beginning to worry   
about you Hee-chan" Closing his eyes as he relaxed, Heero heard movement to his left before a gentle hand was felt upon his   
forehead "Well you don't seem to have a fever anymore which is good, you should be fit for travel again by tomorrow morning"   
  
Both were silent for a few minutes as each of them were caught up with their own thoughts. The sound of Trowa starting a fire   
broke Duo out of his thoughts, glancing down at the quiet boy next to him he softly said "Thanks for saving my life Hee-chan"   
When he got no response from the other boy, Duo cleared his throat before saying "Umm...I've been wondering how you actually   
did it?" Cold blue eyes snapped open to clash with violet, in an emotionless voice the younger boy simply answered "I healed   
you" Scratching the back of his head, the braided boy quickly pointed out "Hee-chan normal humans can't just heal people without   
any means other than their bare hands, and Tro told me about this strange light that surrounded the both of us" A slight look   
of panic crossed Heero's face before he quickly set it back into a neutral look, in a monotone voice the boy stated "One from   
each generation within the temple is born with the ability to heal" Looking thoughtful for a moment, Heero then asked "I am   
gathering that does not occur within your temples?" Shaking his head in a negative, Duo replied "Not that I'm aware of....so   
this healing ability of yours, is it some form of magic?" Turning his attention to the darkening sky above, Heero softly   
answered "There is no such thing as magic" Duo's curiosity got the better of him and the braided boy quickly found himself   
asking "So if it wasn't magic, then what exactly is it?" Watching the shining stars as they slowly began to appear one by one   
above him, Heero eventually said "It is a gift handed down to those who serve within the temple"  
  
Relaxing once more, Heero quietly asked "Where did the horses come from?" Duo chuckled in amusement before he answered "They   
are all curtesy of our friends from before. After we made sure that you were alright, we scouted the surrounding area and   
found eight of them not too far from here. Now that we have the horses it should only take us another two days before we   
reach the capital of Sanq. Then we can sell them and use the gold we get to buy us boat passes so we can get you back to   
Enlizer" The last part came out just barely above a whisper but Heero didn't notice, for once he remembered the fate of   
their attackers his whole body froze and his face paled. Forcing his tired body into a sitting position, Heero ignored his   
throbbing head and turned his attention over to where Trowa sat quietly tending the newly built fire. His gaze then roamed   
over to where the horses of multiple colours were tied to a nearby tree. His eyes went distant as he thought to himself 'The   
rivers will run red as Shinigami blindly follows the journey of Life....that's how that piece of writing started out. If   
what the rest of that scroll said is true also, then it is best that I leave as soon as possible. I can not allow either   
Duo or Trowa to become any more involved in this than they already have' Heero was so deep in thought that he didn't notice   
the worried look Duo was giving him.   
  
Coming to a decision, the younger boy asked "Which direction is the capital of Sanq by the way?" Raising an eyebrow in   
surprise, Duo answered "It's east from here....why do you want to know?" Shrugging his shoulders, Heero laid back down on   
the ground once more. Ignoring the braided boys questioning look, Heero asked "How did you get the name Shinigami?" Taken   
aback by the younger boy's question, Duo just sat there in mute silence for a few moments before he found enough of his voice   
to answer. With slight nervousness in his voice he said "I was kind of hoping that you would forget about that" Toying with   
the end of his braid, Duo sighed softly then simply answered "It's the name I decided to call myself when I fight those I see   
as my enemies"   
  
Looking for a quick way to get off that subject, Duo smoothly changed the topic "Can you want to tell me about what happened?"   
Alarmed blue eyes shot up to stare directly into calm violet as Heero quietly asked "About what?" Resisting the temptation   
to roll his eyes, Duo said "About what happened in between the time I took that dagger to the chest till the time I woke up   
with you lying in my lap.....not that I didn't mind that part happening" He finished of with a wink. Narrowing his eyes,   
Heero calmly said " I don't remember anything" Raising an eyebrow in doubt, Duo studied the younger boy before him as he said   
"Really?...nothing at all?" When Heero shook his head in a negative, Duo sighed softly "Look Heero I'll let you know one   
thing about me, I really hate liars and from what I can tell you seem to be doing that very thing at the moment" Still with   
his eyes narrowed, Heero coldly repeated "I DONT remember anything, I wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind when   
everything was going on" Rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration, Duo waved with his other hand as he said "Doesn't   
matter, I just wanted to know what went on that's all" Raising an eyebrow Heero carefully asked "Why couldn't you find out   
what happened from Trowa, he was there also" Shaking his head Duo replied "Yes he was there, but he didn't see who ever or   
what ever killed those assassins" Heero inwardly sighed in relief at the braided boys answer and decided it best to remain   
silent about the whole thing. Duo quietly stood up after he was certain their conversation was at an end and said "You should   
get some rest, I'll wake you when dinners ready" Before making his way over to where Trowa sat.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~   
  
  
It was a few hours until dawn, the stars in the sky were still shining brightly as a solitary figure silently made his way  
through the sleeping camp and over to where the horses were kept. Prussian eyes quickly scanned the area once more, making   
sure that none of the others had been awoken by his movements. Out of the eight horses present, Heero felt drawn to the only  
pure white horse there. Walking over to the animal he placed his hand on the creatures head, then blue eyed boy softly asked   
"Will you accompany me to Sanq?" The horse in question gently nuzzled Heero's hand before moving around to allow the boy to   
climb. Once in the saddle Heero lent forward and whispered "Thankyou" Before taking the reins and as quietly as possible the   
white horse began to move away from the camp.  
  
Once Heero was at a safe distance, he and the horse turned back around to face the camp. The blue eyed boy just sat there   
silently for a few minutes before his grip on the reins tightened and turning once more the horse began to gallop off into  
the night.  
  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
  
  
Notes: I want to give a big huggle to Pink Cherry Blossom, GoldenRat, CinC, Yume Maxwell-Yuy, x1-TaKeN-oVeR, tenshiamanda,   
Konpeitou, Kyra, Black-Winged Angel, Ashly, kt, shinchansgirl, ShadowEyedCat, sapphire angel, japanese blader girl, DamnVespa,  
Nekocin, o.Opheonix-firebirdO.o, kathleen savoie, gundam fan, K Stroak, ", Usagi_1313 and MTAE (my three alter egos) You   
guys are the best *grin* Thankyou all so much for your great feedback and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter ^_^ 


	5. The Darker Side of Life

Title: Between Darkness and Light – The Darker Side of Life   
Pairings: 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4, H+2, R+1, M+5, 13+6, past 6+9  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all additional characters are mine though.  
Warnings: Shounen Ai, slight OOC, violence   
  
  
  
  
A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed: Heero's 15, Duo's   
18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18 and Wufei's 16.  
  
  
~ I want to give a big thanks to Yume Maxwell-Yuy who is now the official beta for this fic. Thank you so much   
Yume-chan *glomps* you're the best ~   
  
  
  
~#~#~#~ = Change of scene  
  
  
  
  
  
Footsteps echoed loudly down the empty grey stoned hallway. Flickers from nearby candles held in the wall barely   
emitted enough light to pass between them, leaving large shadowy gaps along the already dark walls around.   
Approaching a large door made from the darkest wood, a slender hand raised up to gently take hold of the golden   
handle.  
  
The deafening silence was broken by the creaking of the old door as it slowly swung open, allowing the light from   
outside to pour into the black room. Closing the door behind her as she entered, the room was once again thrown   
into darkness.   
  
"Have you done what I have asked of Lady Une?" Came a smooth voice from within the darkness. The few candles   
scattered around the room came alight with fire, casting away the shadows to reveal a room filled with many large   
bookshelves, a fire place and a single desk situated in the middle of the room.  
  
Bowing slightly Lady Une answered "Yes your Excellency, Otto has been informed of the situation and has sent his   
men out to search the inside and surrounding areas of Sanq. If by some chance the Jurei manages to get past Odin   
and the search parties, we will still be able to capture him within the city walls. He can not elude us for too   
much longer your Grace" Straightening back up, Une raised a delicate eyebrow as she asked "Are you certain that   
he will be heading east though?"  
  
Taking a small sip of wine from his goblet, Treize savoured the flavour in his mouth slightly before swallowing.   
Placing the cup onto the large desk before him, he calmly said "He will be heading for Sanq that is for certain.   
It is the only city near enough that has a port allowing travel between the mainland and the island where Enlizer   
is situated. What the Jurei does not know however, is the fact that the royal family of Enlizer has placed an embargo   
on all travel to and from the palace. Once he enters Sanq and finds no way of getting back to the palace, he will   
be stranded there. That should give us the opportunity to manoeuvre if by some small chance the Jurei is able to slip   
past Odin and the search parties. Then it will only be the matter of capturing him, I'm sure Otto will be more than   
pleased to be given the opportunity to rectify his early failure"  
  
Standing up from his seat, Treize placed his half empty glass on the desk before him, and then made his way over to   
where Lady Une stood. Calm azure eyes regarded the woman in front of him, before continuing "We can do without the   
Jurei for the time being, we can't run the risk of losing the boy by rushing things. What's important at the moment   
is continuing on with our work. We need to have everything prepared for when we do finally obtain the Jurei. That is   
why I sent for you Lady Une, I need Zech's Merquise in this room within the hour... I have a job for him"   
  
"Consider it done Lord Treize" Lady Une bowed slightly once more, before turning around and leaving the room.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Cold green eyes snapped open and peered up into the dark morning sky above. A frown came across Odin's face as he   
was suddenly hit with an uneasy feeling. Bolting straight up from his makeshift bed, the blonde assassin swore   
loudly before disappearing in a blink of an eye.  
  
Silently reappearing on the outskirts of a nearby camp, Odin kept to the shadows as he searched for a particular   
occupant within the site. From his position his green gaze quickly passed over the sleeping braided boy, and then   
just as quickly passed by the Silencer. When his sight landed on the last bed, his green eyes widened in fear as he   
found it was empty. "Shit" The assassin cursed angrily as he strained his ears and faintly heard the fading sound   
of hooves.  
  
Teleporting back into his own camp, Odin hastily picked up his weapons belt and his cloak. Ignoring everything else,   
the assassin quickly mounted his horse. Whipping the reins hard, Odin held on tightly as his mount instantly left   
the camp in a run leaving everything else behind.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Scrunching his eyes tighter together as he rolled over onto his side Duo attempted to get some more sleep, but the   
persistent sunlight wouldn't allow him too. Rubbing his sleepy violet eyes as he sat up, it took his sleep fogged   
mind a few seconds to realise that he was the only one left in bed. Sighting Trowa sitting on a large boulder facing   
the east, Duo frowned slightly when he couldn't locate the whereabouts of a certain Prussian eyed boy. Thinking that   
Heero had simply gone for another walk like he had done the previous morning, the braided boy didn't think anything   
of it. Combing his fingers through his messy bangs, Duo asked "Where did Heero run off to this time?"  
  
Turning around slightly to look at his friend, Trowa calmly said "He went east a little under an hour ago" Before   
turning back around.  
  
Yawning loudly, Duo stretched his arms out above his head as he said "So when did he say that he'll be back?"  
  
Without looking back, the quiet archer replied "He won't be back this time"  
  
Instantly getting the braided boy's full attention, Duo narrowed his eyes dangerously as he asked "Excuse me?"   
  
Turning around to meet his friend, green eyes calmly looked into blazing violet as the banged boy replied "Heero   
left a little under an hour ago with one of the horses"  
  
Narrowing his eyes even further, Duo calmly inquired "And you know this because?...."  
  
Dusting himself off as he stood, Trowa nimbly leapt down from the large boulder. Walking calmly over towards Duo,   
the banged boy answered "I watched him leave, although I believe he was not aware of me doing so"   
  
Picking up his jaw after it dropped to the ground, Duo pointed an accusing finger at his travelling partner as he   
yelled "And you just let him leave?!?! Trowa how could you? You know too damn well just how dangerous it is out there   
to be travelling alone!"  
  
Nodding his head in agreement, Trowa looked straight into Duo's eyes and said "I do"  
  
Opening and closing his mouth a few times as his brain attempted to process what was just said to him, Duo eventually   
asked "Then why did you let him leave?"  
  
Sighing quietly to himself, the banged boy looked deeply into the others eyes. Trowa could easily see the fear Duo   
felt for Heero in them, but he knew he had to say what was needed "We do not own him Duo, Heero is free to do as he   
chooses and if he decided to travel to Sanq alone…..then you must respect his decision"   
  
Still seeing the fear in Duo's eyes, he then added "You must also think is he any safer with us anyway? What with OZ   
now sending assassins after us"  
  
A frown appeared on Duo's face, standing up the braided boy walked over to where his pack was and knelt beside it.   
Tightly grabbing the strap, Duo seriously said "That's true, but I also promised Heero that I would get him to Sang   
safely and you know that I never break my promises Tro" Duo sighed quietly to himself as he stood up and slung the pack   
over his shoulder. Walking over to were the remaining horses were left, Duo placed his pack on the closest one then   
turned back around to meet his friend. With his face splitting into a grin, Duo cheerfully said "Plus we need to get   
our horse back don't we"  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Quickly leaping into a nearby tree, Wufei kept as low to the branch as he could while he attempted to peek around the   
trunk. With what little light there was this early in the morning, the Chinese boy could make out yet another group of   
people who all seemed to be searching the area.  
  
His dark eyes watched their every movement as the three men and their mounts began to leave the area. Quietly lowering   
himself from the branches when he was satisfied that they were long gone, he then quickly sprinted deeper into the forest   
while keeping low to the ground.   
  
The slight beating of wings informed the Chinese boy of Nataku's return. With all his strength, Wufei quickly leapt into   
the closest tree and attempted to gain control of his breathing while he waited for his reptile friend. He didn't have to   
wait long for the small dragon to join him and as soon as she did, Wufei asked "What's our status?"   
  
Crawling up to sit next to the Chinese boy, Nataku quietly answered "I saw at least a dozen groups of humans all over   
this forest, patrolling in small groups of three or four men. Most of the groups have their own mounts, but there are   
small handfuls that are without. My guess would be that they are out looking for something that must be pretty important   
for this amount of men to be searching"  
  
Slamming his fist into the branch below him, Wufei growled "It has to be Yuy their searching for! It's just too much of   
a coincidence that he is somewhere in this area and so is this huge search party….we have to get to him before any of   
these men do!"  
  
Leaping down from the tree once more, Wufei once again started running in the direction his mind was telling him to go.   
Ignoring all the passing scenery, the Chinese boy thought to himself 'Hold on Yuy, I'm almost there'  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
The sound of waves breaking on the sand could still be heard to the left, even though the actual beach could no longer   
be seen. As Heero and his mount headed for Sanq at a steady pace, the beginnings of a thick forest made itself known to   
his right as the trees around him began to gather in numbers.  
  
After debating with himself to whether he should stick to the grassy plains he was travelling on now or if he should   
attempt travel through the forest. Heero decided it best for him to stick to the grasslands knowing that with his luck,   
he would probably get himself lost if he entered the dense forest.  
  
Apart from the trees getting denser on his right, the scenery hadn't really changed all that much since he left the   
camp site. After his initial sprint from his rescuers turned travelling companions, he had not seen any signs at all   
of other travellers. Heero for one was very happy about that fact.  
  
All this time alone had also given Heero the opportunity to think about the recent events. He knew for a fact that   
the man who had saved him earlier was the same man from his dream. Judging from the way the dark figure killed all   
those who had tried to harm him, Heero thought to himself that it was a good possibility that the armoured man was   
indeed none other than Shinigami. And if that was the case, Heero prayed that he could get back to the temple before   
anything else could happen.  
  
A pair of violet eyes flashed in his mind and Heero was quickly reminded once again of Duo. Shaking his head in   
frustration, the blue eyed boy berated himself for continually becoming distracted by the braided boy. He didn't know   
what it was about Duo, but since their meeting he had often felt himself feeling somewhat safe and happy when the   
braided boy was around him.  
  
It had been a long time since Heero had felt any emotion other than indifference and on the odd occasion depression.   
He knew that if it wasn't for Wufei being there by his side over the years watching over him, he probably would have   
done something he might have regretted.   
  
A small smile tugged at Heero's lips at the thought of his justice ranting friend, but as quickly as it came it   
vanished as he wondered what Wufei was doing at the moment. Depression quickly replaced the blue eyed boy's mood as   
he also thought about how Quatre and J were also taking his kidnapping. Heero was becoming more depressed thinking   
of his only friends and the man he thought of as his grandfather. Deep down inside, he knew that they were probably   
worried sick about his absence.   
  
Thinking about his friend brought Heero's thought to the others within the temple and palace. Do they even care that   
he is gone? Snorting bitterly to himself, the blue eyed boy thought 'Probably not' He wasn't blind, he saw the way   
the others looked at him as he walked by. He could easily see the fear and worry held in their eyes when they looked   
upon the blue flame mark upon his brow. Heero also knew that it was all due to the incident years ago when he was but   
a child, when those men from the mainland had attacked him out in the garden. He didn't remember much of that night,   
only up to the point where the dagger had been pressed up to his throat. After that everything went black and the   
next thing he knew, Heero found himself lying in a bed within his sleeping chambers. Sure Wufei and J assured him that   
the guards had found them before anything happened, and that they had quickly taken care of the matter. In his dream   
he had often dreamt of the armoured man...Shinigami, saving him from his attackers, but no matter how much he wanted   
to believe it...deep down inside, Heero knew that too was not the case. Also the appearance of the Akujin in his last   
dream deeply troubled Heero. In all of his reading he had only come across that name once, it was the title given to   
a great evil being that was vanquished eons ago by the gods.   
  
Breaking out of his thoughts, Heero halted his mount and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. In the distance he could make   
out the outline silhouettes of four mounted figures blocking the path between the forest and the near by shore line.   
Not wanting to take his chances with the four travellers up ahead, Heero indicated for his mount to begin entering the   
forest.   
  
Carefully watching the travellers for any type of movements as he casually changed direction, Heero swore out loud to   
himself when he saw them quickly break into a run to catch up to him. Urging his own mount to run, Heero dashed into   
the forest and leant down as close as he could get to the horses neck to avoid any low hanging branches.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"Thank you Zech's, that will be all" Treize finished, as the study doors were thrown open and a caped man came running   
in.   
  
Placing the silver mask back over the top of his head, Zech's flipped a few strands of long platinum blonde hair over   
his shoulder. Casting a quick uninterested glace at the intruder, the blonde turned his gaze back to Treize as he said   
"I will get onto it right away your Excellency" Before walking out of the study, closing the door behind him.  
  
Raising a single forked eyebrow in annoyance at his visitor, Treize calmly said "I hope there is a good reason as to   
why you think you can just burst into my private study unannounced and interrupt my meeting"  
  
Breathing heavily, the cloaked man bowed low as he said "Forgive me you Excellency, but I have an urgent message from   
Duke Durmail"   
  
Sighing softly to himself as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, Treize asked "And what is this message?"  
  
Getting back his composure, the messenger took out a rolled up parchment and handed it over to Treize "These are order   
written by the Duke himself, ordering you to begin gathering your troops your Excellency. By the end of the new week   
on the day of the full moon, the invasion of Sanq will be taking place. All the information you will need is written   
in that parchment"  
  
Nodding his head in approval, Treize placed the rolled up parchment onto his desk, then turned around to address the   
messenger "Tell Duke Durmail, that my armies will be ready on time. Now leave me, I have much work to be done"  
  
Bowing once again the messenger walked out of the study, closing the door quietly behind him.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Since leaving the camp there had only been silence between Duo and Trowa, and only the sounds of the distant shore and   
the sea birds broke through the quiet atmosphere.   
  
Tugging at the reins for his mount to stop, Trowa nimbly leapt down from the saddle and began to inspect the ground   
around them.   
  
Watching his friend with interest, the braided boy spoke for the first time since leaving camp "What have you found   
Tro?" The emerald eyed boy ignored Duo's question as he dashed into the entrance to the forest.  
  
A few minutes dragged by as Duo waited patiently for his friends return, he didn't have to wait long either. Soon   
enough Trowa emerged from the trees and quickly remounted his horse. Taking a quick glance at the braided boy, Trowa   
calmly stated "Heero travelled into the forest"   
  
Duo immediately spurred his mount to enter the dense forest, Trowa not far behind him.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Holding on tight as his horse leapt over a fallen tree, Heero urged his mount to go faster as he heard his pursuers   
not far behind him. Staying down close to his horse's neck, the blue eyed boy was just barely able to miss the few   
low branches hanging down from the trees.  
  
He didn't know what direction he was taking, all that he knew was that as long as he kept his pursuers at a safe   
distance behind then it will be alright. It wasn't until it was too late that Heero noticed that somehow two of his   
attackers had gotten in front of him and were now aiming their bows straight at him.  
  
As the first arrow was released Heero's mount stopped running and stood up on its hind legs, and blocked all the   
arrows from hitting the blue eyed boy with its own body. The horse cried out in pain as the two arrows deeply embedded   
themselves within the creature's body. Heero fell from the horses back awkwardly and landed on the hard ground below   
him with a loud crack, dazing him in the process.  
  
Ignoring the flaming pain in his left arm, Heero watched wide eyed as the beautiful white horse before him swayed   
slightly on its hind legs before it they gave way sending the creature crashing to the ground.  
  
Ignoring both his broken arm and his attackers, Heero got up and stumbled over to the franticly breathing animal. For   
the first time he could remember Heero's blue eyes began to well up with tears as he got his first look at the damage.   
Both of the arrows had hit the horse, one in the chest, the other in the animal's neck.  
  
Falling onto his knees next to the horse, Heero placed his right hand on the horses mane stroking it softly as he said   
"Don't worry, I'll heal you……I've just got to remove the arrows first, it will be painful" Removing his hand from the   
horse, the blue eyed boy tightly gripped the arrow closest to him and was beginning to pull it out when another sped   
past him and embedded itself within the horses skull. The bleeding animal next to him thrashed out for a second and   
then stilled as it exhaled its final breath. The arrival of his other two pursuers went unnoticed by Heero as he sat   
there on the ground, hand still wrapped tightly around the arrow.   
  
The horses beneath the bandits suddenly began to slowly step backwards, as their dark eyes darted around nervously.   
Pulling firmly on the reins, one of the bandits angrily muttered "Stupid animal, what the hell do you think you are   
doing?!......I didn't tell you to move" But the horse ignored the command and started to snort wildly instead. All of   
the other mounts were also beginning to act the exact same way.  
  
Beginning to panic, one of the bowmen shakily aimed an arrow at the unsuspecting boy then released it. As it flew   
through the air, one of his comrades yelled "What the hell do you think you're doing?! We need the kid alive"   
  
As the arrow flew through the air, the pointed tip pierced right through the right side of Heero's chest until it stuck   
out a few inches out the other end throwing his young body forward from the impact. All expected the boy to collapse to   
the ground, but each of their eyes widened impossibly large when he remained kneeling next to the dead animal as if   
nothing had just happened.  
  
The blue flame symbol upon his brow began to softly pulsate and glow with a faint blue light. Below Heero the few blades   
of grass by his feet, quickly withered and died as if their life energy had been sucked right out of them. In a circular   
motion radiating out from the blue eyed boy position, the greenery soon began to turn brown as the leaves from the trees   
above rained down to the group like a downpour.   
  
Falling down within the leaves were dozens of objects of various size and shape, one of which hit one of the stunned   
bandits straight on the head. Snapping out of his shock, the large man turned his attention away from his target and   
down to what had hit him. His eyes widened in horror when he found a small dead bird by his mounts hooves, looking all   
around the bandit dropped his bow when he realised the floor was littered with dozens of dead animals.  
  
Feeling fear begin to creep up inside of him, the archer cried out "Retreat" But it was already too late. The mounts   
beneath them collapsed down to the ground lifeless, and soon enough all the bandits felt their life energies being   
drained straight from their bodies. Feeling their bodies going weaker by the second, one by one the bandits fell to   
their knees.   
  
Dull blue eyes were focused fully on the dead horse, his mind had completely shut down after witnessing the death of   
the creature. The only feeling coursing through his body, was one of intense hatred and pain. Standing up from his   
kneeling position, the arrow embedded within his body suddenly snapped in half as his torn muscles attempted to heal   
themselves forcing the intruder out at the same time. The broken bone within his arm easily fused back together and   
soon both injuries were just distant memories as not even a scar was left on Heero's body.  
  
Heero vaguely noticed a slight stinging sensation on the back of his neck, just before his eyes rolled into the back   
of his head and he fell to the ground in a deep sleep.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
From his position up in the branches of a distant by tree, Odin just smirked to himself and smugly said "This job is   
just all too easy" Leaping from branch to branch, the blonde assassin dropped down to the forest floor silently and   
walked up to one of the boys dead pursuers. Noticing that each of their faces were twisted in pain, the blonde assassin   
easily concluded that their deaths had been quite painful.  
  
Shaking the thoughts out of his mind, Odin turned around to regard the sleeping boy as he muttered to himself "You've   
got some power there boy" As Odin began to approach Heero, the assassin had to stop dead in his tracks as a sword flew   
through the air and embedded itself in the dirt a few metres in front of him. Cautiously taking a step back, Odin slowly   
bought his left hand behind his back and tightly gripped the handle of a hidden dagger. From within the shadows, Odin   
could barely make out the silhouette of a boy.  
  
From his position between the trees, Wufei's eyes burned with an intense anger as he sighted the unconscious form of   
the Jurei. His eyes narrowed into slits when he turned his attention away from Heero, and too the blonde man standing   
not to far from him. Stepping into the light, Wufei walked up toward Heero and took up a protective stance in front of   
him as he coldly announced "If you value your life, leave now"  
  
Gripping the hilt of his dagger tighter, Odin to a step forward as he asked "And what will you do if I decided to leave   
with what I came for?"  
  
Nataku dropped out from the sky above the pair and with her claws, she took hold of Wufei's weapon then flew it over to   
the Chinese boy before flying off into a nearby tree. Taking the offered sword in his hands, not taking his eyes off of  
his opponent Wufei said "Then you will have to get by me to do so" Raising his katana, the Chinese boy waited patiently   
for the battle to begin.   
  
Pulling out the dagger from the back of his belt, Odin held it out before him as he said "Have it your way then" Before   
rushing towards the younger boy, swiping his blade towards his target.  
  
Dodging the assassin's first attack, Wufei quickly aimed his katana towards his opponents open spot. No sooner had he   
done that had the assassin dropped to the floor, kicking Wufei's feet out from beneath him.  
  
Not wasting another second Odin slashed out with his dagger, but narrowly missed the boy as he rolled out from underneath   
him.  
  
Getting back onto his feet, Wufei leapt away from the blonde assassin to give him some distance. Narrowing his eyes,   
the Chinese boy cautiously watched his opponent "You are better than I gave you credit for, but I will not let you get   
anywhere near Heero"  
  
Smirking smugly at the raven haired boy, Odin slowly stood up from his crouched position "Believe what you will boy,   
but one way or another I will be leaving here with him. Now if you will be alive when I do so….well that's for me to   
decide now isn't it"   
  
Wufei blinked in surprise as right before his eyes the blonde assassin suddenly disappeared from sight.  
  
Appearing right in front of the stunned boy, Odin reached out an arm and tightly grasped Wufei around the neck. Before   
the Chinese boy could react, the green eyed assassin lifted him up off the ground. Odin teleported once again and as   
hard as he could, he slammed the raven haired boy into the nearest tree. Sneering, the blonde assassin coldly said   
"Looks like you lose boy" Then raised the dagger above his head.  
  
From her position up in the tree, Nataku was just about to attack the assassin. When from across the other end of the   
clearing, she saw a bolt flying swiftly though the air and embed itself within the blonde mans chest. Deciding it best   
to stay hidden and watch the scene unfold, Nataku kept herself hidden within the branches and waited.  
  
As Odin slammed Wufei up against the tree, black spots began to dance around the edge of his vision. Groaning out load   
in pain as he unconsciously dropped his sword, the Chinese boy was vaguely aware of a warm liquid splashing across his   
face before his mind slipped into unconsciousness.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"Great shot Tro! I couldn't have done any better myself" Grinning Duo watched in satisfaction, as the two bodies in   
the distance slumped down to the ground.  
  
Rolling his eyes at the madly grinning braided boy, Trowa lowered his crossbow and stood up from where he was kneeling.  
  
The pair had arrived in the area just after the previous sword fight just got underway. After hearing the few comments   
thrown back and forth between the fighting pair, it had become obvious who was the 'bad' guy in this little scenario.   
  
Walking out from their hiding place, Trowa began checking the four dead bodies closest to him while Duo ran over to   
where Heero lay motionless on the ground. Kneeling next to the younger boy, worry was clearly shown in his violet eyes   
as he reached out and checked for any signs of a pulse. Sighing in relief when he found one, Duo allowed his tense body   
to relax a little. As he begun inspecting Heero's body for any signs of injury, the braided boy gasped quietly when he   
found a tiny dart embedded in the back of Heero's neck.  
  
Carefully removing the dart, Duo brought it up closer to his face to get a better look at it. Growling low in his   
throat, the braided boy angrily threw it to the ground then spat "Heero's been drugged! Tro you check those bodies see   
if any of them had the antidote on them somewhere, I'll check the two over here"  
  
Face set in determination Duo stalked over to where the two bodies lay, one blonde man with an arrow through his chest,   
the other an unconscious young boy laying face down on the ground. Checking the dead man first, Duo couldn't help   
glancing over curiously to where the raven haired boy lay. Pausing in his search for a moment, violet eyes narrowed in   
thought and suspicion. Noticing the gold circlet around the unconscious boys head, a sudden thought enter Duo's mind.   
Keeping his gazed locked onto the still figure, Duo suddenly asked "Hey Tro….you don't suppose it's possible this is   
the one who killed those guys yesterday do you?"  
  
Already finished his search on the four bodies, Trowa quietly walked up next to Duo and knelt down beside him. Trowa   
glanced down at the unconscious boy lying before him, giving him a quick once over. At first glance he thought the   
boy to be wearing normal travelling clothes consisting of a pair of tight black pants and a sleeveless fitted royal   
blue top. Reaching out a hand to roll the boy over, both emerald and violet eyes widened in surprise when they sighted   
the embroidery of an elegant golden dragon on the front of the unconscious boys top. Running his fingers gently over   
the pattern, Trowa finally answered "Perhaps….but we will not know for certain until either Heero or this boy wake up"  
  
Turning his attention away from the dragon design, Duo looked at his long time friend "What on earth is a member of   
the dragon clan doing all the way out here? I thought that they never left their village, let alone associate   
themselves with others outside of their own clan"   
  
Shaking his head as he stood, Trowa cast a meaningful glance over at Heero then back as he quietly replied "I don't   
know Duo, but it seems there is more going on here than what appears"  
  
Sighing as he too sent a quick glance over towards the sleeping blue eyed boy, Duo then continued his search of the   
dead body "I know, but…"  
  
Looking over his shoulder to find the reason why his friend has suddenly stopped talking, Trowa could only see Duo's   
back and the fact that his shoulders were slightly shaking. Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, the banged boy turned   
his attention fully towards Duo and asked "What is it?"  
  
Blazing violet met calm emerald as Duo threw a small pendant towards his silent friend. Looking down at the small   
gold pendant held in his hand, Trowa saw that engraved within the gold was a simple symbol of a rose. The only outward   
reaction the banged boy gave was the slight widening of his eyes as he realized what he was looking at.  
  
Seeing Trowa's reaction to the pendant, Duo then growled out through clenched teeth "Not only that, but he is also   
wearing the emblem of the Serpent Guild. My guess is that OZ organized a trap for us and Heero must have walked right   
into the damn thing" Balling his hands into fists, Duo punched the ground hard as he spat "Damn it! I didn't know Treize   
had some members of the Serpent Guild actually working for him…..I thought he just hired the bastards! Who knows what   
other organizations he's also got in his pocket"  
  
Dropping the gold pendant to the ground, Trowa turned back around and carefully picked up the unconscious boy. Standing   
up straight, the banged boy looked down thoughtfully at Duo for a moment "Focus on finding the antidote for Heero, I'm   
going to take this one back to where we left the horses"   
  
Grinning as he returned to search the body, Duo cheerily replied "We'll meet you there then, once sleeping beauty wakes   
up and we have a little chat" Chuckling quietly to himself, Duo looked up towards Trowa as his grin turned into a cheeky   
one and winked "Maybe all he needs to wake up is a kiss"  
  
Shaking his head at his friends comment, Trowa shifted the bundle in his arms then turned around and headed back from   
where they came from. As le left, both were unaware of the small shadow following closely behind Trowa.  
  
Sensing that he was now alone, Duo's shoulders sagged slightly as he let out a tired sounding sigh. Peering though his   
bangs over towards the slumbering blue eyed boy, Duo looked sadly at Heero as he thought to himself 'What are you   
hiding from us Hee-chan? What are you hiding from me?" Shaking his head to dispel the thoughts, Duo forced his mind   
to focus solely on finding the antidote.  
  
A huge grin spread across his face when he found a small pouch hidden within the assassin's belt. Reaching a hand   
inside the pouch, Duo's grin widened even further when he managed to pull out a small vial filled with a clear liquid.   
"Finally!" He yelled out to no one in particular as he rushed over to where Heero lay.  
  
Sitting down next to the blue eyed boy, Duo carefully lifted Heero's head and placed it on his lap. Pulling the small   
cork from the glass vial, he then held it up to Heero's lips and happily said "Bottoms up Hee-chan" Just as he poured   
the contents into the sleeping boy's mouth. Throwing away the now empty vial, Duo brushed a few stray bangs away from   
Heero's face and waited.  
  
Minutes had passed and the blue eyed boy still showed no signs of waking. Pushing aside the growing feeling of unease,   
Duo gently caressed Heero's chocolate hair and softly began speaking to the boy "Did I ever tell you that I think   
you're beautiful? The first time I saw your eyes, you literally took my breath away" Chuckling quietly to himself, Duo   
added "Actually every time I look at you, you have that effect on me and you know I don't lie" Sighing sadly, Duo moved   
his hand down from Heero's chocolate mane and began to softly caress his cheek. Violet eyes glazed over slightly with   
the beginnings of tears as Duo quietly said "Heero, it's time to wake up ne? How long do you plan on sleeping for   
anyway?....come back to me Hee-chan, please wake up"  
  
Feeling a slight movement in his lap Duo looked down hopefully at Heero, silently praying that he was waking up. A   
large genuine smile spread across Duo's face as he heard a slight groan fall from the lips of the boy in his lap.  
  
Eyelids slowly fluttered open to revel confused Prussian blue orbs as Heero raised his hand to rub his tired eyes.   
Blinking a few times to clear his vision, Heero focused his gaze on the person hovering above him and tried to figure   
out who it was. Slowly the blurry image began to sharpen and Heero found himself to be staring up into the grinning   
face of one Duo Maxwell. Not knowing if this was a dream or not, Heero slowly lifted his hand up to Duo's face and   
softly touched the warm cheek "Duo?"  
  
Smiling down to the boy below him, the braided boy brought up his own hand to cover Heero's as he replied "Yeah its me   
Hee-chan"  
  
Hearing the familiar voice, a small smile graced Heero's lips as he closed his eyes and groaned "I don't feel too   
good....what happened?"  
  
Still holding the younger boys hand Duo lowered it together with his own until they both were resting on the ground and   
entwined their fingers together. With his free hand, the braided boy began to gently caress Heero's hair again as he   
answered "I'm not sure, Tro and I got here and found two guys fighting against one another, the four others were   
already dead before we arrived"  
  
The mood was instantly broken as Heero snapped his eyes open and sat up. Looking seriously into Duo's eyes, Heero   
emotionlessly asked "Who was fighting?"  
  
Shrugging his shoulders slightly, Duo carefully eyed Heero for any reactions as he answered "Not sure, one was a   
blonde man who's now dead, while the other was a young Chinese boy with tightly pulled back black hair and a golden   
dragon symbol on his top. He was already unconscious when we got here so Tro took him back to where we left the   
horses"  
  
Looking away from the braided boy's face, Heero turned his attention to the dirt below him as he quietly whispered   
"Wufei"  
  
Just barely hearing the whispered words, Duo raised an eyebrow as he asked "So you know him then?"  
  
Sending the older boy a quick glance, Heero thought silently for a few moments looking deeply into Duo's eyes "He   
is a friend"  
  
Eying Heero suspiciously, Duo frowned slightly as he questioned "A friend hey? So tell me then, how does a simple   
text translator from the temple of Amara know someone from the Dragon clan? A clan I might also add, that does not   
associate with people outside their own village?"  
  
Prussian eyes darkened slightly in anger as Heero emotionlessly said "We grew up together, that is all you need to   
know"  
  
Feeling frustration beginning to build up, Duo released Heero's hand and tightly grabbed a hold of his wrist instead.   
With fire burning in his eyes, he yanked the younger boy up with him as he stood and yelled "I've had enough of your   
games Heero! Now tell me"  
  
Quickly getting over his shock at the unexpected outburst, Heero gave the braided boy his best death glare "Release   
me Duo, you're hurting me!"   
  
As Heero attempted to free his trapped wrist, Duo unconsciously tightened his hold and growled out "No Heero I want   
answers and I'm not letting go until I get some"   
  
When it became obvious that the blue eyed youth wasn't going to answer Duo roughly grabbed Heero's chin, forcing the   
boy to look at him. The braided boy saw Heero's blue eyes widening at his gesture, but he ignored it and said "Look   
Heero, if we are going to help you get back to your temple, I would like to know a little something about the person   
we're helping. Is that so much to ask for?" But all he got in reply from Heero was the shaking of his head as he   
suddenly began to continually repeated the same line over and over "Please don't do it...please don't"   
  
Thinking that he was perhaps a little too forceful, Duo released his grip on Heero's chin, but when the blue eyed   
boy didn't stop shaking he began to worry. Doing the first thing he thought of, Duo pulled Heero into a tight hug   
in an attempt to calm the boy. It seemed to work as the younger boy's body stopped shaking and slowly began to relax   
in his arms.  
  
Pushing the growing panic inside of him back down from where it came, Heero felt himself begin to relax into Duo's   
embrace. No sooner had he done that Heero caught a flash of silver as it came hurling down towards the unsuspecting   
braided boy, Heero lost his usual monotone and yelled out "Stop!" After hearing the blue eyed boy's cry, the sword   
stopped motionless just above Duo's head, while the boy in question pulled away from the embrace.   
  
Looking into Heero's eyes Duo raised his eyebrow as he confusingly asked "Excuse me?"   
  
Heero ignored the braided boy though as he watched the blade swing back again to prepare for another swipe. This time   
anger was clearly heard in Heero's voice as he yelled once more "I said stop!" Behind the confused looking braided boy,   
the dark figure holding the weapon stopped his movements and just stood there staring at Heero through the thick   
covering of his midnight black helm.  
  
Noticing that Heero was no longer looking at him but at something behind, Duo released his hold on the blue eyed boy   
completely and spun around. His violet eyes widened when he caught a brief glimpse of a dark armour clad figure and a   
large sword before the image before him wavered then vanished.  
  
Blinking in astonishment, Duo turned back around towards Heero when he heard a low growl. Grinning nervously the   
braided boy noticed that Heero's attention was still on the same spot.  
  
Taking up a position between Duo and his so called guardian, Heero narrowed his eyes and looked up into the   
featureless black helm. His voice back to its normal monotone, Heero simple asked "Who are you?"  
  
Reaching up his hand, the armoured man removed the horned helm from the top of his head. A flow of midnight black hair   
fell down from within and almost touched the leaf littered ground with its length.   
  
Looking up into the long pale face above him, Heero raised his eyebrow in surprise when he found that the man before   
him was looking back at him with his eyes closed. Somehow though, the blue eyed boy could sense that the armoured man   
could see everything around him.  
  
In an eerie voice, the black haired figure spoke "I am protector of he who bears the mark of Life upon their brow, I   
am executioner of all those who do harm upon whom I have sworn to protect"  
  
Carefully studying the emotionless face before him, Heero quietly asked "Then why Duo?"  
  
Still with his eyes closed, the dark figure turned his pale face and took a quick glance over at the now equally pale   
braided boy before returning his attention back to Heero "Evil or good it does not matter for all those who inflict   
harm upon you my dear Jurei, will all end with the same fate"  
  
Feeling the anger inside of him beginning to rise, Heero narrowed his eyes and spat "Then you are no better than those   
you kill"  
  
Standing impassively, the dark figure calmly answered "Say what you will about me Jurei, but I have sworn to protect   
you. If that human harms you one more time, not even you can save him from my wrath"  
  
Taking a step back, Heero looked at the long haired man in disbelief "Why?"  
  
The dead leaves littering the ground swirled up into the air and circled around the armoured man, causing his long   
black hair to float all around him as if it were alive. And for the first time since their meeting, the armoured man   
opened his eyes to reveal eyes as black as the night itself. Pinning Heero with a glare that far surpassed his own,   
the dark one spoke "Because dear Jurei, I am Shinigami" The leaves dropped once more to the ground lifelessly as   
Shinigami disappeared within a black light.   
  
  
TBC  
  
  
Notes: I want to give a big huggle once again to Pink Cherry Blossom, GoldenRat, CinC, Yume Maxwell-Yuy,   
Ashly, o.Opheonix_firebirdO.o, Nekocin, Kyra, ShadowEyedCat, kt, Konpeitou, shinchansgirl, Shinigami's Minion,   
Usagi_1313, Daughter of Night, chibisarel, craver, Eikou, Ris Night, dreamer, ladyfalcon237. Thank you all so much   
for your great reviews.   
  
I know I haven't told you anything about Duo or Trowa's past yet, and you are all probably wondering what's going   
on with that ne? It will all come out in time, in fact some of Duo's past will be told in another chapter or two.   
Trowa's past wont be told until later on in the fic though I'm afraid. Also if you haven't guessed it already, you   
will find out the reason to why only some people can see Shinigami and others cant in the next chapter.  
  
For all of you who have been wondering, I plan on starting the sequel to Two Pieces pretty soon (don't worry I'm   
still going to be writing this fic also). I do have some bad news though, I wont be able to update again until   
sometime in August *runs away from the computer and hides* I'm sorry guys but I cant help it *cries* See I'm going   
on a holiday in a fortnight and I wont be able to update my fics until I get back from it. I just wanted to warn   
you all so then you don't think I've abandoned my fics. Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see   
you all again when I get back. Ja ne 


	6. Prophecy

Title: Between Darkness and Light – Prophecy  
Pairings: 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4, H+2, R+1, M+5, 13+6, past 6+9   
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all additional   
characters are mine though.  
Betaed: Yes…sankyou so much for doing it Yume-chan *huggles* you're the best!  
  
Warnings: Shounen Ai, OOC, violence   
  
  
A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed: Heero's 15, Duo's   
18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18 and Wufei's 16.   
  
  
~Hiya minna, Long time no see ne? Does anyone still remember this fic? Sorry to have kept you   
guys waiting for so long but I'm back now… I hope you enjoy it~  
  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~ = Change of scene   
~……..~ = Nataku's speech  
'………' = Thoughts   
  
  
  
  
The soft sounds of birds singing of in the distance slowly penetrated the Chinese boy's mind   
as the dark cloud of unconsciousness began to lift. His head throbbed painfully as the raven   
haired boy found he couldn't focus his mind on any single thought. With a slight groan escaping   
his parched lips, Wufei felt something soft and damp run gently down his face. Unable to figure   
out where he was, the raven haired boy attempted to open his eyes but quickly shut them again   
as pain shot through out his head. In a hoarse voice, the Chinese boy managed to croak "What   
happened?"  
  
Hearing the softly spoken question, Trowa removed the blood stained cloth and quietly answered   
"You took a pretty nasty blow to the head and have been unconscious for approximately ten minutes"  
  
Two delicate brows furrowed together as the Chinese boy realised he didn't recognise the voice   
that was speaking to him. The sudden image of a pair of stormy blue orbs and the faint tugging   
in his mind instantly lifted the remaining fog surrounding Wufei's mind as he was reminded of   
whom he was searching for and what transpired only moments ago.  
  
Ignoring the pain, onyx eyes snapped open as Wufei blindly kicked out at the unknown intruder.   
A satisfied smirk crossed the Chinese boys face when he felt his boot connect with a strong   
chest, before landing a safe distance away.  
  
To say that Trowa was surprised at the others violent reaction would have been an understatement   
as he rubbed his abused chest from where he lay sprawled out on the ground. He let none of his   
surprise however show on his face though as he silently berated himself for his lowering his   
guard.   
  
Narrowing his eyes, Wufei quickly scanned the immediate area for the Jurei's location. When his   
search turned up with nothing, his dark onyx gaze locked firmly with emerald as the Chinese boy   
dangerously asked "What have you done with Yuy?"  
  
Calmly patting himself off as he stood, Trowa's neutral expression never wavered as he answered   
"We haven't done anything to him if it's Heero you're talking about"  
  
The sunlight that filtered through the bare branches above slowly began to fade as dark clouds   
rolled over the once clear sky. The faint sound of thunder could be heard in the distance as the   
wind all around began to increase in speed. Lifting his arms up before him, Wufei took on an   
aggressive stance as he prepared to attack the other boy.  
  
Sensing the threat, Trowa took a few slow steps back and began edging towards his weapon when a   
loud hissing noise broke through the silence startling the pair. The archer paused in his movements   
as he carefully regarded the others reaction to the unusual noise.  
  
~Yamero Wufei! There's no time for this, Heero's not far from here~ Hissed the green dragon from   
her hidden position within the trees branches.  
  
The words spoken from above immediately got the Chinese boy's attention as Wufei lowered his arms.   
No sooner had he done that, the raven haired boy silently leapt up into the trees above and quickly   
headed in the direction he knew the Jurei was.  
  
Confused and worried by the sudden departure, Trowa quickly picked up his weapon then darted off in   
the same direction the Chinese boy took, knowing it would take him to the same location that both   
Duo and Heero were in.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
The unnatural darkening of the sky and the distant claps of thunder went unnoticed by the two   
silent figures deep within the thick forest.  
  
Glancing quickly over each of the five bodies that lay dead upon the earth, Duo's violet gaze   
eventually found its way back to the only other breathing occupant in the area. Taking in a deep   
breath, the braided boy took a step forward and gently asked "Heero, What just happened here? Who   
was that guy?"  
  
His questions though only fell on deaf ears as the said boys attention was focused inwardly towards   
his own thoughts 'Shinigami, bringer of death….reaper of souls. I can no longer delay, I must make it   
back to the temple before any more of the prophecy is for filled'  
  
Worried about Heero's lack of response, Duo quickly closed the gap between them and gently shook the   
younger boys shoulder "Hee-chan? What's wrong" A gentle smile spread across the braided boys face   
when Heero slowly turned around to face him.  
  
"Duo" Heero softly spoke as he looked up at the braided boy, his own gaze turning sad at the worry he   
clearly saw within the violet depths 'You almost died because of my carelessness…' Coming to a decision,   
Heero raised his arm and removed Duo's hold on his shoulder. Prussian eyes turned cold and serious as   
Heero said in a monotone "What happened is no concern of yours. I thank you, but I am in no longer need   
of your services. Its been a pleasure meeting you Duo"   
  
Before the younger boy could move away, Duo's hand darted out and took hold of Heero's thin wrist while   
his right hand went to cup the boy's cheek. Softly running his thumb over the smooth tanned flesh   
beneath, Duo's eyes softened as he looked down into emotionless blue "Please, don't run away from me   
anymore Hee-chan"  
  
Releasing a breath he was unaware he held, Heero softly responded "Your life would be better off if I'm   
not around"  
  
Releasing his hold on the younger boy's wrist, Duo's left arm snaked its way around Heero's waist bringing   
the unresisting body closer. Moving his hand lower down Heero's cheek, Duo gently ran his thumb over the   
blue eyed boy's bottom lip "I know that we've only known each other for a few days, but I care for you   
too much Heero and I can't bring myself to let you go"  
  
Turning his head away, Heero bitterly counted "Even if I told you that death follows my every wake and that   
if you stay with me, death will consume you also?"  
  
Too lost in the uncontrollable emotions bursting out from every fibre within him, Duo gently took hold of   
the younger boy's chin forcing Heero to face him again as he absentmindedly replied "Death can not consume   
Shinigami" As he closed his eyes and leaned forward, brushing his lips softly over Heero's.  
  
Heero's eyes widened as he felt Duo's lips brush against his own before releasing a muffled gasp of surprise   
as the braided boy pressed their bodies closer together.  
  
Feeling the soft lips beneath his own part slightly, Duo's tongue quickly darted in to explore and claim   
every inch of the moist cavern within.   
  
Squeezing his eyes shut tight at the unexpected intrusion, panic quickly spread throughout Heero as his   
whole body tensed.  
  
Feeling the body within his grasp suddenly tense up was more than enough to bring Duo's lust filled mind   
back to its senses before he hastily pulled away from the Prussian eyed boy. "Oh my god I'm so sorry Heero,   
I have no idea what came over me" Then quickly released Heero as if he was just burnt and staggered backwards   
a few steps.   
  
Before anything else could be said, pain suddenly exploded in Duo's jaw causing the braided boy to stumble and   
fall to the ground. Hitting the earth with a hard thud, Duo's violet eyes closed in pain at the impact. The   
sudden weight settling on his midsection and the cool metal of a blade pressed up against his throat had the   
braided boy instantly on alert as his eyes snapped back open to stare directly into blazing onyx.  
  
Holding the hilt of his katana in a white knuckle grip, Wufei pressed the blade closer to Duo's throat as he   
angrily hissed "How dare you show such disrespect to the Jurei! I will have your life for your dishonourable   
actions!" Then proceeded to raise his weapon into the air, readying himself to strike.  
  
"Release him Wufei" Heero calmly said as he walked over to where the two lay on the ground, avoiding making   
any eye contact with Duo. Pushing down all the new and unknown emotions swirling within him, Heero eventually   
gained control over them as he looked down coldly at Duo and emotionlessly said "Duo's actions are irrelevant,   
our time is short and we must be on our way" Breaking eye contact, Heero wordlessly walked off ignoring the   
hurt and betrayed look in the braided boy's violet eyes at his words.  
  
Slowly lowering his katana, Wufei leant down and whispered into Duo's ear "If you attempt to pull such a stunt   
on Yuy again, not even his word will save you from my blade" Then stood up, sheathing his weapon. Narrowing his   
eyes as he looked down at the stunned braided boy, Wufei bowed stiffly as he said "Pray that we do not meet   
again" Before straightening himself up and making his way over to where Heero waited patiently.  
  
Seeing his Chinese friend approaching him, Heero nodded his head in greeting "Chang, its good to see you again"  
  
At hearing the familiar nasial voice greeting him, all of Wufei's anger melted away. In an uncharacteristic   
display of affection, the Chinese boy pulled Heero into a tight hug and whispered into his ear "Its good to   
see you well Yuy, you had us all worried" Before releasing his hold on the other boy and taking a step back   
"We must retrieve my bag and be on our way, we have a long journey ahead of us if we are to find a way to   
get you back to the temple"  
  
Nodding his head in approval, Heero sent one last glance towards Duo before walking off in the opposite   
direction.  
  
Turning back around to find blazing violet orbs glaring murderously at him, Wufei's own eyes narrowed as he   
spoke quietly enough so then the braided boy couldn't hear "Make sure that we're not followed Nataku" Then   
turned to catch up to Heero, walking protectively close to his friend as they left.  
  
After watching the pair leave, Trowa silently emerged from the shadows and made his over to help his friend   
"What was that about?"  
  
Taking the offered hand, Duo pulled himself up and proceeded to dust himself off "No idea, but whoever that   
guy is has some major issues. I mean seriously, it was only a kiss for crying out loud...and what the hell   
is a Jurei anyway?!" You got any idea Tro?"  
  
Violet locked with emerald as the archer answered "No, but it would pay for you to be careful around those   
two should we ever meet again"  
  
"Yeah, yeah I know. That guy packs a pretty mean punch" Duo said as he rubbed his throbbing jaw "There's   
something just not quite right about them, I'm sure their hiding something"  
  
"I would have to agree, but it's not our concern anymore. We should be thinking about what our next move is?"   
The archer stated as he silently scanned his friend for any more injuries.  
  
Sighing loudly, Duo threw his hands behind his head "I don't know, I guess since we're this close anyway we   
may as well see what's happening in Sanq. It will give me time to catch up with Howard and the guys, plus   
we might be able to find some more info about what OZ is planning"  
  
Agreeing with his friend, Trowa replied "We must leave now then if we want to reach Sanq before night fall"   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
The pair walked in silence after leaving Duo and Trowa's company. They had been travelling for a little over   
half an hour when Wufei suddenly came to a complete stop. Dropping his bag down carefully to the ground, the   
Chinese boy stated "We should wait here until Nataku arrives…besides, I think we need to talk"  
  
Turning around to face his friend, Heero nodded his head as he sat down on the cool earth. Focusing his intense   
gaze at Wufei, the blue eyed boy asked "What do you want to know?"  
  
Following Heero's example, the Chinese boy sat down on the ground next to his pack. A thoughtful expression came   
across Wufei's face before he spoke "I suppose you should start from the beginning, with the first thing you   
remember after your kidnapping"  
  
Closing his eyes for a moment to collect his thoughts, Heero reopened them and began reciting all of what had   
happened to him. He told Wufei about waking up in Duo's camp, meeting Trowa and how the three of them travelled   
to a village. He spoke about the assassins that attacked them after they left the village, Duo getting injured,   
how Shinigami appeared to save their lives and him healing the braided boy. He then spoke of his decision to   
leave Duo and Trowa and the chase through the forest by the bandits. Heero then finished by speaking about his   
conversation with Shinigami not long before his Chinese friend's arrival. He told Wufei everything, excluding   
of course the pig tails incident. The blue eyed boy thought it best not to inform Wufei about that part, he   
didn't want any type of information held over him as bribery once he returned to the temple.   
  
Narrowing his eyes, Wufei asked "Are you sure this Shinigami is who he says he is? For all we know he could   
have been one of the people who kidnapped you"  
  
Shaking his head in a negative, his chocolate bangs gently swayed in front of intense Prussian eyes as Heero   
answered "He is Shinigami, there is no doubt about that"  
  
Still not convinced with Heero's answer, Wufei challenged "And what proof do you have that he is the real   
Shinigami?"  
  
"Besides the fact that only I and the people he is about to kill can see him?" Heero asked as a single brow   
rose.  
  
Nodding, Wufei looked straight into Prussian eyes as he stated "Yes, if you want me to believe that he is the   
so called 'God of Death'"  
  
Looking away from his Chinese friend, Heero contemplated whether or not he should say anything. He quickly   
decided that the knowledge of what was at stake, wasn't worth the risk of his silence. And if he was going to   
prevent any more of the prophecy from being for filled, he will need his friends help to do so. Prussian   
locked with onyx as Heero seriously said "What I am about to tell you is only known by J and myself. Under   
no circumstances are you to repeat what I am about to say"  
  
The seriousness in his friends tone was enough to tell the Chinese boy that whatever it was that Heero had   
to say was pretty significant. Nodding his head, Wufei never once broke eye contact as he replied "On my   
honour as the Shenlong child, what you tell me will never part from my lips"  
  
Accepting the Chinese boy's oath, the pair sat in silence as Heero sorted out his thoughts then begun "The   
night of my kidnapping, when I was summoned to the High Priest's study chamber. J handed me an ancient scroll   
to decipher. I did what J asked of me and found out that written in that scroll was the prophecy of humanities   
Armageddon"   
  
Eyes going impossible large, Wufei could only manage to ask in a whisper "What did the scroll read?"  
  
Taking in a deep breath to calm himself, Heero then continued   
  
"The rivers will run red as Shinigami follows the journey of Life.  
From the shadows the Lord of the Dead will emerge,  
Burning everything in its wake to Engulf Life within its darkness.  
Out of the ashes a great evil will be reborn to reclaim all which was lost.  
The cursed ones will walk the earth once more,   
If the darkness consumes the light"  
  
  
There was nothing but silence for some time as the Chinese boy digested what Heero had just told him "My god   
Yuy...are you certain this is true?" Wufei eventually asked, hoping that he had some how he had heard wrong. The   
sadness he saw in the others Prussian eyes though was enough to confirm his answer even before Heero began to   
speak.  
  
"The first part of the prophecy has already come to pass, Shinigami follows my every wake. I don't believe he   
is this 'Lord of the Dead' the prophecy spoke about, but I can not say for sure. The only thing I can suggest   
is getting back to the temple before any more of the prophecy comes to be"  
  
Rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance, Wufei sighed quietly "That will be harder than you think Yuy, the   
King has put an embargo on all in and out going traffic to Enlizer. So unless we can somehow convince a captain   
in Sanq to take us back to the palace 'without' telling them exactly who we are, we will need to think of   
another way to get back"  
  
"Damn it" Heero growled as he punched the earth beneath him in frustration, sending thin clouds of dirt into   
the air.  
  
"That is not our only problem either, it seems that whoever kidnapped you is still out there searching. Nataku   
and I past quite a number of search parties walking around between here and Sanq. I think it would be best for   
us to keep as low a profile as possible to avoid any unnecessary attention"   
  
Pushing down his frustrations Heero nodded his approval. A flash of gold brought the blue eyed boy's attention   
to the head piece upon Wufei's brow, cocking his head to the side as he asked "By the way, what is that around   
your head?"  
  
Having forgotten about the circlet being there, Wufei raised up a hand to touch the dark green jewel embedded   
within it "It was given to me by Winner, and it is how I found you all the way out here"   
  
That got Heero's attention as he confusedly asked "Nani? How?"  
  
"This circlet lead me to you. I do not know how it works, but when I put it on I could feel where you   
were...speaking of which" Taking his eyes off the boy before him, Wufei opened the bag sitting next to him   
and began to search through it.   
  
The only outward sign to Heero's curiosity was the raising of an eyebrow as he watched his friend carefully.  
  
Another circlet almost identical to the one Wufei was wearing was pulled out of the bag and held up in front   
of the Chinese boy. Looking down at the piece of gold jewellery in his hands, Wufei said "Winner wanted me to   
bring this one for you"   
  
Heero reached out a hand slowly to take the circlet, but the Chinese boy unexpectedly moved it out of reach.   
Confused by the others reaction, Heero withdrew his hand and gave the raven haired boy a confused look as he   
waited patiently for Wufei to explain.  
  
A slight pink tinge spread across the Chinese boy's face a he looked into Heero's eyes and almost timidly   
asked "May I?"  
  
A little surprised by the request, Heero could only sit there and nod his approval.  
  
Moving to sit up onto his knees, Wufei twisted the circlet around until the jewel was facing him. Taking a   
deep breath to calm his racing heat, he slowly leant forward and placed the circlet upon Heero's head. The   
Chinese boy was not in the least bit surprise to find that the circlet easily covered the blue flame mark   
upon Heero's brow. As he removed his hands though, Wufei's eyes widened in surprise as the light green stones   
surrounding the larger blue one began to illuminate with a soft green light before going dull once again.  
  
Noticing Wufei's reaction, Heero began to inwardly panic as he attempted to calmly ask "What's wrong?"   
  
Turning his attention away from the dark blue jewel down to worried Prussian eyes, Wufei shook his head smiled   
slightly "Nothing is wrong, do you feel any difference?"  
  
Doing as Wufei asked, Heero closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He could feel a slight tugging sensation   
in the back of his mind but apart from that the blue eyed boy couldn't feel any difference in him at all.   
  
Heero was about to report his findings when a sudden green blur fell from the sky and rammed straight into the   
blue eyed boy's chest sending him toppling backwards from the impact.  
  
"What on earth do you think you're doing Nataku?! You could have injured Yuy!" The Chinese boy growled angrily   
as he sighted his leathery companion plastered to the Jurei's chest.   
  
Ignoring her master's angry questions, the little green dragon hissed in happiness as Nataku continually licked   
Heero's face.  
  
A slight chuckle escaped Heero's lips as the dragons slender tongue tickled his face. With laughter in his   
voice, Heero barely managed to pull Nataku away long enough to say "And I missed you too" Before the dragon   
overpowered him and plastered herself back onto Heero once again.  
  
Snorting loudly enough for the other two to hear, Wufei bitterly said "Anyone would think you were bonded to   
Yuy instead of me"  
  
Craning her neck around to face the Chinese boy, Nataku narrowed her gleaming red eyes as she angrily hissed   
~Some could say the same thing about you Chang!~ Before turning her attentions back to the Jurei.  
  
Seeing the slight crimson colour staining his friend's cheeks, Heero raised an eyebrow as he asked "What did   
she say?"  
  
Attempting to regain some of his composure back, Wufei glared down at Nataku as he answered "Nothing of   
importance" Looking for an excuse to change the topic, the Chinese boy cleared his throat "We should really be   
on our way, it won't be long until nightfall and I would like to get you to the safety of Sanq long before then"  
  
Prying the dragon away from his chest Heero held Nataku within his arms as he stood then proceeded to follow   
his Chinese friend through the forest.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
The silence in the study was broken as a young acolyte came running into the room after throwing open the   
large wooden door. Raising a white fluffy eyebrow at the intrusion, the High Priest J asked in annoyance "What   
is it? I'm extremely busy at the moment"  
  
Bending down to one knee in respect, the out of breath acolyte answered "One of the priestess' just gave birth   
Holy One"  
  
Placing his quill onto the oak desk before him, the High Priest asked "And this concerns me because?..."  
  
Looking J right in the eye, the young acolyte stood "The child she bore wears the white mark of the Jurei on his   
chest, just like the one on yours Holy One"  
  
That answer caught the old priest by surprise as he stood up and bellowed "What?!"  
  
Visually shaking, the blonde acolyte shrunk back sightly before repeating "The child bears the mark of the Jurei,   
he is your replacement once the child is of age"  
  
Calming himself, J straightened out his long white robes as he spoke "Take me to the child, I would like to see   
for myself"  
  
Not wanting to upset the High Priest any further, the young acolyte almost tripped over himself in his haste to   
obey as he lead the old priest out of the room.  
  
It didn't take too long for the pair to reach the room they sought. Upon entering, J stalked over to where the   
other higher priests were huddled and instantly knew the babies location. He looked down into the crib and found   
that sure enough, upon the child's tiny chest was the same white flame symbol that was on his own.  
  
"What about the future of the Jurei when he is returned to us?" One of the higher priests questioned.  
  
Shaking his head, J continued to stare at the baby as he replied "We only assumed that he would take over my   
role once I pass onto the next realm. This is the obvious truth that the Jurei's destiny lies else where" Looking   
up into the worried faces around him, J then ordered "We must now prepare for the inauguration ceremony"  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Branches creaked and fallen leaves rustled as a soft wind made its way through the area where five bodies lay   
face down on the ground, each of their lives taken away in an instant. From all directions at once an almost   
musical voice began to chant softly on the wind in a language unknown by all save for a very select few of   
human kind.  
  
Rain as black as the night sky, began to fall from the heavens as a sudden gust of wind sent the leaves   
littering the ground up into the air. The atmosphere in the forest began to thicken as a thin grey fog entered   
past the bare trees from each direction.  
  
Moving slowly over the entire area, the grey mist began to swirl around the lifeless bodies. As it touched   
each of the corpses, the unnatural mist seemed to fade away as if it was being absorbed into the five remains   
itself.  
  
Moments passed in absolute silence as not even the wind dared to move, it was as if the wind was holding its   
breath in anticipation of what could happen next. The sudden twitching of the assassin's finger was the only   
warning given before the blondes chest violently jerked and lifted up into the air. A loud gasp for breath   
escaped the assassin's mouth as Odin's eyelids flew open, revealing pure white orbs beneath them.  
  
The blonde mans chest dropped back down to the ground lifeless once again just as a blood red light began to   
radiate from his body. The slight smell of burning flesh drifted through the area as upon Odin's forehead, a   
dark brown almost black symbol was burnt into his skin.  
  
As suddenly as it appeared, the dark red light faded from Odin as his body relaxed once more. The dark rain   
began to soften its downpour before coming to a complete stop as Odin's chest began to rise and fall with   
breath once again. Sweat and water plastered the shaggy blonde bangs to the exhausted assassin's forehead as   
the green of his eyes slowly began to return.   
  
Taking in a deep breath an odd feeling within his chest caught the assassin's attention. Looking down, green   
eyes widened in surprise as Odin quietly muttered to himself "So that's what happened" Reaching up his hand,   
the blonde man tightly gripped the wooden bolt sticking out of his chest as he effortlessly removed it from   
his body.  
  
Dropping the bloody bolt to the ground, Odin turned his attention back down to his wound to find a large   
perfectly circular hole where the wooden object use to be. A slight sigh of annoyance made it passed the   
assassin's lips as he angrily muttered "Now how the hell am I suppose to hide this?"  
  
The sudden glinting of gold caught Odin's attention as he stretched out his hand and picked it up. A wicked   
smile spread across the blonde mans face as he saw the little gold pendant with a rose etched into it. Placing   
the gold pendant over his wound a faint red light began to emanate from the carved piece of jewellery. Ever   
so slowly the skin and muscle tissue within the gaping wound began to shudder and move, fusing the gold pendant   
to his skin as his body healed itself.  
  
Getting to his feet, Odin dusted himself off before straightening up his clothes. As the assassin reached down   
to retrieve his weapons the symbol upon his forehead started to pulsate as the pendant within his chest began   
to glow softly. With a look of confusion on his face, Odin retracted his hand and stood back up.   
  
"There is no need for such mortal weapons my child, you have been selected as one of my chosen few" The unknown   
seductive voice drifted past his hearing was enough to send shivers of fear and pleasure down the assassin's   
spine   
  
Spinning around on his heels in an attempt to find the speaker, Odin's eyes narrowed as he demanded "Who are   
you?"  
  
A light chuckle was heard as the same alluring voice spoke once more "Hone your powers my child, for you will   
be in need of them soon"  
  
The black skies slowly turned blue once again as the dark presence within the forest vanished as quickly as it   
came. Leaving behind one very curious assassin to figure out what exactly the voice meant.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~   
  
  
On the edge of the forest, two figures sat silently, hidden high up on the branches of a tree. One figure, a   
lithe boy with tightly pulled back raven hair and onyx eyes quietly shifted weight from one foot to the other   
as he watched his silent companion.  
  
Casting a quick glance over to his friend, Heero coldly asked "What?"  
  
Silently studying the blue eyed boy a little while longer, Wufei eventually asked "Why did you allow him to   
kiss you?"  
  
Heero sent the Chinese boy a glare, but its effects were some what ruined by the slight pink hue that spread   
across his cheeks "It is something I would rather forget about" When it looked like the Chinese boy was about   
to speak again, Heero quickly cut him off "Why do you care anyway?"  
  
"My duty is to protect you with my life Yuy, if he so much as touches you again he will not live long enough   
to regret it. Plus….there's something about him that I do not trust, it would be wise for you to be cautious   
if we should ever meet again" The Chinese boy warned.  
  
The sudden return of Nataku effectively ended that conversation as Wufei turned his attentions towards the   
green dragon and asked "What did you find?"  
  
Settling herself within Heero's lap, Nataku yawned slightly before she answered ~There aren't any search parties   
in the area at the moment so it is safe to cross the plains at the moment~  
  
"Thankyou Nataku, keep yourself hidden while Yuy and I are within the city walls. If we are in need of your help,   
I will summon you"  
  
The green dragon nodded her head, before stretching out her large wings and taking off into the sky once more   
as the pair dropped down silently from the trees.  
  
Making a quick dash across the plains between the outer walls of Sanq and the forest, Wufei never once took his   
eyes off of Heero as he ran behind the blue eyed boy. The pair eventually made it to the stone wall without   
any incidents, much to the Chinese boy's relief.  
  
Looking up to the wall towering above him, Heero raised an eyebrow in disbelief as he asked "How are we going   
to climb it?"  
  
A smug smirk appeared across the Chinese boys face as he replied "Yuy, I would have thought that you of all   
people would have more faith in my abilities" Stretching out his left hand, the raven haired boy simply said   
"Take my hand" Before kneeling down and placing his free hand on the ground below. Without another word said,   
the Chinese boy stood back up just as the earth below them began to tremble slightly.  
  
Heero blinked his eyes in astonishment as he sighted the ground around them began to sink in on itself while   
the earth beneath them slowly started to rise higher and higher.   
  
The dirt only stopped moving once it reached a height where Heero and Wufei could safely reach the top of the   
stone wall. Helping the blue eyed boy up onto the wall, Wufei made sure he was safely on before climbing onto   
it himself. As soon as the Chinese boy left the raised earth it started to shrink back down as the area all   
around began to flatten once more as if it had never been moved in the first place.  
  
Without waiting for the others approval, Heero quickly scanned the area for any possible witnesses. Finding   
none around, he leapt down from the stone wall to the deserted area below.  
  
"Yuy!" Wufei harshly barked as he saw his friend take the leap of faith off the wall before he jumped down   
himself. Standing up from his crouched position, Wufei glared at the younger boy as he muttered "I swear   
you're going to put me in an early grave Yuy"  
  
Shrugging his shoulders, the blue eyed boy casually looked around the deserted area as he asked "What now?"  
  
Checking the vicinity to make sure no one had seen their unauthorized entry into the city, Wufei glanced back   
at his friend "There was a temple I saw when I passed through the first time, I think that's where we should   
head. Be on your guard though Yuy, this city is full of thieves" Wufei finished off with a dangerous gleam   
in his eyes.  
  
Walking up behind the Chinese boy, Heero nodded his head as he said "Lead the way"  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"Man its good to be back" Said the grinning braided boy bouncing from side to side as the pair made their   
way through the busy main street, their mounts walking closely behind. "It's been way too long since our   
last visit, don't you think Tro?"  
  
Sending a quick glance over towards his overly cheery friend, Trowa ignored the slight dullness in the others   
eyes as he quietly replied "It has"  
  
Handing the reins over to the banged boy, Duo's cheery nature faded to be replaced by a serious one as he   
said "I've got to go and check in with the guys, why don't you find us an inn for the night and I'll meet   
you for a drink in the Barge later?" Seeing his friend's nod, his long braided hair swirled around him as   
Duo spun around and disappeared into the crowd around them.  
  
Trowa watched the braided boys retreat for a moment before tugging on the reins and continuing on his way.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Light poured into the large hall area, bouncing off of the white marbled walls as two figures   
silently entered one before the other.  
  
Closing the large wooden door quietly behind him, Heero couldn't help but stare at the room all   
around him. The temple was an exact replica of the temple Amara back at the palace, right down to   
the large statue of the Goddess of Life except this version was made out of white stone instead of   
crystal. Walking up to the stone statue, Heero reached out his hand and gently touched the cold   
statue. A small smile graced his lips at the feeling of rightness he felt as realised that he was   
back in an environment that he knew well. An emerald light reflected off the white statue as the   
tiny green stones within the circlet began to glow softly causing the stone beneath his fingers to   
warm at his touch. Looking up, his Prussian eyes watched knowingly as the statue before him changed   
from stone to crystal in a matter of a few seconds.  
  
Turning around, Heero saw the astonished look upon Wufei's face. A smirk appeared on his face as the   
blue eyed boy casually said "Looks like you need more faith in my abilities also Chang"  
  
The sound of footsteps approaching instantly had the pair on alert as Wufei took up a protective stance   
in front of Heero.  
  
"I'm sorry but this temple isn't open to the public, I'm going to have to ask you to leave" A voice   
called out as a short elderly man with a large nose and a mushroom style hair cut stepped out from within   
the shadows.  
  
Eyeing the old man suspiciously, Wufei took a step back attempting to hide Heero from the intruder's line of   
sight before asking "We need a safe place for the night and thought this temple would be the safest place   
for us"  
  
"That may be true young man but only the priests are allowed within the Dasha temple" The old priest replied   
as he carefully studied the teen before him. The dragon insignia upon the tight blue tunic the raven haired   
boy wore caught the priest by surprise as he asked "You are of the Dragon Clan?" At seeing the boy's hesitant   
nod, the priest took a step to the side and got his first glimpse of the boy standing behind the other. His   
eyes widened in shock when he found a pair of familiar Prussian blue eyes framed by a mop of messy chocolate   
hair looking straight back at him. With disbelief in his voice, the old priest said "What in the Jurei's name   
are you doing here Heero?"  
  
Surprise was written all over the blue eyed boys face as Heero quietly asked "Excuse me?"  
  
Just as shocked as Heero was at the unexpected turn, Wufei quickly withdrew his katana and held it up before   
him as the Chinese boy demanded "Who are you? And how do you know of Yuy?"  
  
Raising his hands in a gesture of peace, the priest seriously said "Put your weapon away, I will not permit   
any acts of violence within this temple"  
  
Placing a hand on the Chinese boy's shoulder, Heero said "Do as he says Wufei" Before stepping out from behind   
Wufei's protection. Cold blue eyes carefully regarded the elderly man in front of him "How do you know who I   
am?"  
  
"Forgive my rudeness Jurei, my name is G and I am the High Priest of this temple. Though I have not seen you   
in over ten years, I could never forget what the chosen child of our goddess looks like. Please follow me   
through to my study and we will discuss all of this in private" The High Priest G then gestured for them   
both to follow.  
  
Light suddenly poured in though the main doors as they burst open blinding the three as they heard the sound   
of many pairs of feet entering the temple.  
  
Walking past Heero and Wufei, G made his way over to the large group of people as he loudly said "This temple   
is not open to the public, I'm sorry but you are all going to have to leave at once"   
  
A young child with blonde hair and hazel coloured eyes broke apart from the group and ran straight over to   
where Heero stood. Heero's eyes widened in surprise as the small child cried out "Onii-chan" Before   
plastering herself to the blue eyed boy's leg, quietly sobbing.   
  
Going down to one knee, Heero's cold eyes softened as he asked "Elly, What happened?"   
  
Red rimmed hazel eyes looked up into warm Prussian as the young girl sniffed "It got my mommy and daddy and   
took them away" Then buried her tear stained into Heero's chest.  
  
Rubbing her back in small circles, the blue eyed boy gently asked "Who did Elly?"  
  
Looking up once again into Heero's face, Elly quietly whispered "The red demon"  
  
  
TBC  
  
  
Once again I would like to give a big thankyou to Pink Cherry Blossom, GoldenRat, CinC, Ashly, Nekocin,   
Kyra2, Usagi_1313, kt, shinchansgirl, Konpeitou, Natea, Star Dragonsong, Siobhan, His Infernal Majesty,   
japanese blader girl and Ruby Love for their great feedback…I hope I didn't miss anyone, if I have I'm   
sorry.   
  
I know I didn't get around to telling you anything about Duo's past in this chapter, but don't worry   
then next chapters going to reveal parts of it ^_~ So until next update Ja! 


	7. Echoes from the Past

Title: Between Darkness and Light – Echoes from the Past  
Pairings: 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4, H+2, R+1, M+5, 13+6, past 6+9   
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all additional characters are   
mine though.  
Betaed: Nope, this chappies not betaed *pouts* so please excuse any mistakes there might be in here.  
  
Warnings: Shounen Ai, OOC, violence   
  
  
A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed: Heero's 15, Duo's   
18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18 and Wufei's 16.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~ = Change of scene   
~……..~ = Nataku's speech  
'………' = Thoughts   
  
  
  
  
  
  
Feeling the body go limp within his arms, Heero quickly checked for any signs of life and sighed in relief   
when he found the child to be sleeping.  
  
Carefully cradling Elly in his arms, Heero handed the small blonde girl over to one of the villagers before   
sharply demanding "What happened? And what is this red demon she was talking about?"  
  
"We do not know its name, only what the abomination looks like…that, and what that demon did to our people   
and our village" Said an elderly man as he stepped out from within the crowd.  
  
Turning his attention away from the villager in front of him, Heero locked his piercing blue gaze with the   
aging man. Narrowing his eyes slightly, the Prussian eyed boy simply said "Explain"  
  
Sighing wearily, the old man roamed aging eyes over his fellow villagers before resting back on the stormy   
blue eyes of the boy standing in front of him. Taking a deep breath, the old man began.   
  
"There is not much I can say really, it wasn't long until after you and your two absent companion's left   
when a few more outsiders entered the village, not that that's anything new. Being were we are our village   
tends to get a lot of travellers stopping by before they head out on the final stretch to Sanq.  
  
Didn't get a good look at them myself and I doubt that any of the others would be able to tell you anything   
either. The only thing that stuck in my memory about them was that one of strangers had some type of metal   
mask covering most of his head and long platinum blonde hair. His hair wasn't as long as your friends mind   
you, now that was a rope of hair if I've ever saw one.  
  
The next thing anyone knew, right smack in the middle of our little village that demon appeared out of   
nowhere and started tearing the place up. That's when young Elly there lost her parents and most of the   
other villagers who managed to escape lost their family members as well.  
  
I never saw the demons full height, but crouched down like it was, it easily towered over the village   
buildings. It was blood red in colour and had a pair of leathery wings twice the size of its body sticking   
out the back of it. But it was its eyes that really chilled me to the bone, they were bright green and   
glowing but there was nothing but pure evil lurking behind their depths"  
  
The shiver that ran through not only the old mans body, but most of all the other villagers didn't go   
unnoticed by either Heero or Wufei as the elderly man finished his tale  
  
Sharing a glance quickly with the Chinese boy, Heero turned his attention towards the Hight priest G "Are   
there any other temples or churches within the city that can take these people in?"  
  
Nodding his head, the old priest answered "This is the only temple allowed within the city, but there are   
numerous churches available that could easily house these villagers"   
  
With that problem solved, Heero turned his attention to the villager holding the sleeping blonde and coolly   
stated "Take care of that child"  
  
A small smile graced the villager's lips as he caught the hint of worry in Heero's voice and tightened his   
hold on Elly's sleeping form "We will…. it would make her happy if you could visit her sometimes"  
  
Regarding the man before him silently for a few moments, the blue eyed boy smiled slightly and gave a brief   
nod before walking back over to where Wufei stood.  
  
Taking that as a sign that things were done, the High priest herded the villages out of the temple while   
saying "I will show you to the nearest church if you would all please follow me"  
  
Calm onyx eyes watched as the last few villagers exited the temple before turning his attentions towards the   
boy at his side "What do you make of all this?"  
  
"I don't think this has anything to do with the prophecy if that's what you mean, but the appearance of the   
demon does trouble me. From the descriptions that the villagers gave, did it mean anything to you?" The   
blue eyed boy asked as he looked at his friend.  
  
"I'm not sure, I would have to see this demon for myself but from what we've heard, it does match the   
descriptions of a dragon demon from one of the stories Master O use to tell me as a child"  
  
Getting Heero's unwavering attention, the blue eyed boy raised a delicate eyebrow at his friend as he   
curiously asked "And what story might that be?"  
  
"It is a story set in the times when the ancient Gods still walked upon the Earth, back in a time where   
dragons filled the sky and demons filled the land. The story itself is about one of Shenlong's most   
powerful dragons, the gold dragon Epyon. Epyon was favoured by Shenlong above all the other dragons and   
was gifted with great power. Over time the gold dragon became jealous of all the power and respect the   
dragon god got from the other clan members and longed for that same power and respect himself.   
  
It is said that Epyon abandoned the Dragon clan to join up with a great evil and after swearing loyalty   
to this evil, the golden scales turned a dark red and his sky blue eyes now burned a bright green from   
jealousy.  
  
After being bestowed with unimaginable power by this great evil, a great battle took place between Shenlong   
and Epyon as the now dragon demon flew back to his clan in order to challenge the dragon god for his title.   
The battle lasted for months and many of the dragons within the clan were killed in the epic battle.   
Eventually Shenlong was able to defeat Epyon but he too was gravely injured in the battle. After a triumphant   
battle cry heard all throughout the world, the injured Shenlong flew up to the highest peak of what is now   
called the Nibel Mountain's for his eternal slumber.  
  
Let us just hope that the demon described in the attack on their village isn't the dragon demon Epyon,   
or all we know will be lost because there is no known power strong enough to defeat him"  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
  
"I thought we finally got rid of your sorry ass" Mocked a tall lean figure leaning casually against the   
wall over the other side of the room.  
  
Sighing dramatically while resting the back of his hand against his forehead, Duo replied "Ahhh the   
pleasures of returning home after a long and dangerous journey out into the world…You always make me feel   
so loved Solo"  
  
Chuckling lightly, the blonde figure pushed himself off from the wall and made his way over to trap Duo   
in a tight embrace "It's good to have you back kid"  
  
Returning the embrace, Duo answered "It's good to be back"  
  
Releasing each other at the same time, Solo took a step back and gazed approvingly at his friend "Looks   
like you've grown a bit since the last time I saw you, won't be long and you'll be taller than me"  
  
Grinning mischievously, Duo retorted "Then I will finally be able to call you kid" Before poking his tongue   
out and dodging the playful punch aimed in his direction   
  
"Ah you will have to do better than that to defeat the great Shinigami" Stated the braided boy arrogantly.  
  
"Challenge accepted"  
  
Before Duo's mind could register what the other had said, Solo leapt forward trapping the braided boy's   
head under his arm, then proceeded to rub his knuckles repeatedly into Duo's thick chestnut mane.  
  
"Oww Solo let me go will ya" Duo whined pathetically as he attempted to squirm out of the others tight   
grasp.  
  
Grinning madly, Solo's blue eyes sparkled with mirth "No way Death-boy! Not until you give up and declare   
the great Shinigami's defeat to this lowly mortal"  
  
Stopping his struggle, Duo took in a deep breath as he focused his energy while he warned "Solo, I'll ask   
only one more time…let me go"  
  
When no leniencies were made, Duo finally said "Don't say I didn't warn you" Before he quickly brought   
a leg out in front of Solo's and tripped the blonde.  
  
Bracing himself for what he knew was coming next, the braided boy let out a small "eep" As both boys went   
crashing to the ground in a tangled mess of limbs.  
  
"You could have just given in you know…it would have saved us both a trip to the floor" The blonde stated as   
he attempted to get his bearings back.  
  
Panting heavily from the previous abuse to his poor innocent head, Duo said "Well if you would have let me   
go when I asked you to, I wouldn't of have to trip you…plus Shinigami never gives in"  
  
"That damn pride of yours will get you into trouble one of these days kid" Solo warned seriously as he sat   
up, holding one hand to the back of his head aching head.  
  
Shrugging his shoulders as he stood, Duo stretched lazily before changing the subject "The old man in?   
I need to speak to him"  
  
Use to the abrupt subject changes, Solo nodded his head "Yeah, but not for long. He's got a meeting   
scheduled in an hour so you better make it quick"  
  
Mock saluting his friend, Duo's grin turned into a smile as he said "Take care and we'll have to catch up   
sometime before we leave again"  
  
Inclining his head, Solo returned the smile "Sure thing and don't forget to say hi to Tro for me"  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
  
The market place seemed unusually busy to Trowa as he left the main street and silently entered one of the   
smaller inns that littered the main street of Sanq.  
  
Walking up to where the innkeeper stood behind the bar, the quiet archer placed a pouch full of coins upon   
the wooden surface and waited patiently for the man to acknowledge him. He didn't have to wait long as   
the sounds of coins rattling instantly got the man's attention.   
  
Throwing the cleaning rag over his shoulder, the innkeeper placed a well used mug onto the surface closest   
to him before asking "What can I do for you?"  
  
Doing a quick scan of the room before settling his emerald gaze upon the innkeeper, Trowa asked "Have you   
two rooms available?"  
  
An oily smile appeared on the mans face as he answered "Sure do, ten gold per night they are"  
  
Emerald green eyes unwaveringly gazed into the other mans as Trowa calmly said "Six gold, you are not   
dealing with a tourist here"  
  
Seeing that he'd been caught out, the innkeeper reluctantly agreed to the price before handing over the   
keys to the rooms.  
  
Taking the offered keys, Trowa never broke his gaze from the innkeeper as he added "I have two mounts out   
front that need to be taken to the stables and cared for, I expect them to still be there when my companion   
and I decide to leave" Before turning around and leaving the inn.  
  
Making his way back out into the crowded street, the quiet archer was deciding to use this time to stock   
up on their supplies before heading over to the Barge to meet Duo when he bumped into someone.  
  
Murmuring a quiet apology, the banged boy was about to continue on his way when a familiar voice spoke up.  
  
"Hey Trowa, is that you?"  
  
Raising an eyebrow in question, Trowa turned his attention back to the person he bumped into and smiled   
slightly in surprise as he greeted them "Sally, what are you doing out of the palace?"  
  
Returning her friends smile, Sally's voice had a hint of sadness in it as she answered "One of the village's   
nearby was attacked recently and the refugees have been sent to some of the churches here in Sanq. Queen   
Relena asked me to tend to the wounded and to try and find out exactly what happened in the attack, so   
here I am, I'm on my way over to see them now"Interested in what had happened, the archer asked "Mind if I   
join you? I still have a few hours to kill before I have to meet up with Duo and I too would like to know   
what happened"  
  
Still smiling, the sadness from before was gone as she happily replied "Sure, I could use all the help I   
can get" And with a playful wink she added "And the company would be nice too"  
  
Laughing softly, Trowa put off his supply shopping for the time being and followed Sally through the   
crowded market place.  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
  
"Duo my boy, how have you been?" A cheerful voice called out as the braided boy entered the brightly   
lit room.  
  
With laughter in his voice, Duo answered "Yeah same old Howie, how have things been with you?"  
  
The joyous tone faded somewhat as Howard replied "Not too bad with all things considered"  
  
Sensing the trouble in the other mans tone, Duo asked in concerned "How so?"  
  
Sighing heavily, Howard gestured to the chair opposite him and said "I think you might want to take a   
seat, a lot's happened since you left"  
  
Taking the offered seat, the braided boy sat down heavily into the chair as he wearily replied "I know   
what you mean"  
  
Picking up the pitcher on the table before him, Howard began to pour two goblets of wine before handing   
one over to the braided boy "Anything you want to talk about?"  
  
Sipping at the wine to taste the flavour, Duo swallowed his mouthful before speaking "Oh you know the   
usual, following leads as to what OZ might be up to, fighting our way out of impossible and dangerous   
situations" Chuckling quietly to himself the braided boy then added "Rescuing damsels in distress..although   
take out the damsel part and replace it with mysterious handsome text translators"  
  
Laughing slightly to himself, Howard lowered his goblet "I heard about that boy you picked up a few days   
ago, he must be something if he caught the attention of the great Shinigami so quickly"  
  
Grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, Duo replied good naturedly "Yeah   
those times were interesting to say the least, but we parted ways half a day ago after we ran into one of   
his friends"  
  
Seeing the bright violet eyes dull slightly, Howard sympathetically stated "That boy really did a number on   
you didn't he?"  
  
The grin faded into a small sad smile as Duo shrugged slightly and solemnly replied "Well it's not like   
anything would have come of it anyway. He works in the temple at Enlizer palace and I'm just a thief who's   
stuck in the past and hell bent on revenge. Not that it matters anymore anyway, its not like we're ever   
going to see each other again….so tell me what's been happening here since I left?"   
  
Noticing how pale the other man had become, concern entered Duo's voice as he asked "Howie? What's wrong?"  
  
Watching the swirling patterns of the wine within the goblet, Howard turned his attention away from the   
red liquid and to the worried boy before him as he said "There's been a lot of trouble here in Sanq of   
late. Word on the street is that the royal family of Enlizer were greatly angered by Duke Noventa on his   
last visit there as unknown to him some of his crew broke into the palace and stole some sacred treasure   
before making off with the Dukes ship leaving the poor bastard stranded there.  
  
They eventually released Noventa and allowed him to travel back here just before the king placed an embargo   
on the palace to all ingoing and outgoing traffic.  
  
The worst of it is that we now have the entire of the Sanq army out there looking for us because it was   
said that it was the Sweepers who broke into the palace and stole the treasure"  
  
Violet eyes widened in surprise as Duo asked "You didn't though, did you?"  
  
Shaking his head in a negative, Howard sighed softly before replying "No, I never authorised any attack to   
be done on the palace, you would have to be completely suicidal to even think about stealing from that place"  
  
Duo's body relaxed in relief as he said "That's a relief, I would have seriously began to question your   
sanity if you ordered something like that"   
  
"There is still more you need to know before you think about relaxing Duo" Howard seriously said.  
  
Instantly on alert, Duo raised an eyebrow as he asked "Yeah, and what might that be?"  
  
Placing the barely touched goblet on the wooden table before him, Howard continued "Right after I head about   
the incidents involving Enlizer, I went out myself to see if all my men were accounted for and ended up   
finding that quite a number of them were in fact missing.   
  
I began asking all the higher ups in the Sweepers if they had anything to do with the whole mess but they   
were just as clueless about the whole damn thing as I was. It's obvious that one of them is lying but I've   
got no proof as to which one of them it could be. So it's now looking as though I've got at least one   
person within the group that's ordering high profile jobs behind my back."  
  
Sighing wearily, Howard began to rub the bridge of his nose in frustration as he continued "What's worse   
is that I've heard of similar things happening in the other smaller thieving groups in the city, they've   
mentioned that some of their members have been disappearing over the past few days.  
  
And just to top things off, it seems as though that what ever was stolen has apparently been lost by the ones   
who stole it in the first place, so now you've got ever thief and his dog out there looking for the lost   
treasure.  
  
Oh but wait, this is the part that will probably interest you the most, I also found out that OZ is also out   
there busy looking for this treasure"  
  
"What?!" Duo yelled out as he automatically stood up from his chair and slammed his hands down on the table   
before him "Just what the hell kind of treasure is it if it's caught their attention?"  
  
Shaking his head, Howard replied "That's the thing, no one even knows what the treasure looks like, absolutely   
nothing is know about it"  
  
"You know, it would royally piss those OZ bastards off if we managed to get to the treasure first, don't you   
think?" The braided boy suggested with a smirk firmly planted on his face.  
  
A knock at the door drew their attention away from their conversation as the door opened and in walked one   
of the Sweeper messengers.  
  
Casting a brief glance at Duo, the messenger then turned toward Howard and said "I've been sent to inform   
you that the others are ready" And after receiving a nod from Howard, the messenger left just as quickly   
as he came.  
  
Throwing Duo an apologetic look, Howard grinned as he said "This is an idea we will have to discuss more   
later, come by again tomorrow and I'll be sure to leave the afternoon free so we will have enough time to   
discuss things properly"  
  
Before the older man left the room, a sudden thought entered the braided boys mind as he curiously asked   
"Hey Howie before you go, have you ever heard of the term Jurei?"  
  
A look of confusion passed over Howard's face before he said "Can't say that I have, where did you hear   
it?"  
  
Shrugging his shoulders, the braided boy easily replied "No where important, just heard it when we were   
travelling"  
  
Nodding his head, Howard waved a brief farewell before heading out the door.  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
  
"Please take a seat, both of you….we're going to be here for a while" G said as he gestured to the chairs   
adjacent to his own.  
  
Taking the offered seats, Heero's gaze quickly met that of Wufei's before returning their attention back   
to the old priest before them. Ignoring the weariness he felt form the long day's journey, Heero narrowed   
his Prussian eyes as he got straight to the point "How do you know me?"  
  
"I know you because I too was born in the Amara temple, not only that but I watched the first few years of   
your life Heero before I had to leave to come here. I suppose you would like me to tell in more detail   
though?" The old priest asked.  
  
Simultaneously, Heero and Wufei nodded their agreement to the question asked as they both sat in silence   
waiting for the story to start.  
  
Leaning back in the large chair, G took the opportunity to study the two boys before him. Wufei, he thought   
to himself, was identical to Master O. Not only with the way the boy carried himself around others, but   
the whole justice and honour principles had obviously been inter-grained into his thinking since a young   
age…not that that was a bad thing of course.  
  
Turning his gaze over to Heero, the character that he had witnessed from the boy earlier was defiantly   
the spitting image to the Jurei's guardian and mentor. The cool, calculating look the boy gave when finding   
himself in an unforeseen situation along with the effective way to rectify the problem were tell tails   
signs of J's tutoring…but there had been an unexpected but welcomed warmth in the Jurei's blue eyes as he   
comforted the grief stricken child even though his voice remained virtually emotionless the entire time.  
  
Deciding to focus on the situation at hand, G closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts before   
opening them and starting his story.  
  
"I was born in the temple a few years after the currant High Priest J. As for one born within the temple,   
I was brought up studying all about the Gods and the history of not only our temple and palace, but of   
the entire world also which was ordinary training for a priest as you both should know.  
  
Over the years J and I became good friends. I guess you could say it was due to our friendship that I am in   
the position I am in today. Once it was know to the previous High Priest that his successor and I were such   
close friends, on top of my normal study he allowed me to sit in on some of J's personal tutoring.  
  
Of course I was not allowed to sit in on every session, only the ones that the previous High Priest deemed   
appropriate for one not baring the sacred mark.  
  
Things progressed this way for quite a number of years, until J became the High Priest at the early age of   
twenty seven and took over the duties of running the temple and all those who worshiped there.  
  
Everything was going well and the temple was thriving under J's care but there was one major problem that   
not even the High Priest could fix, there was still no heir born to succeed J. That wouldn't have been too   
much of a problem except for one thing, while in his early forties J mysteriously fell ill. Things at   
that time were not looking well and for the first time in history it looked like the temple would fall to   
ruin without an heir should J had pass on before one was born.  
  
With my earlier sessions with J during my childhood, it was decided by the other priests that I should   
take over the position of High Priest should J pass before an heir was born.  
  
Accepting the honour, I devoted much over the next three years to studying as much as possible from the   
ill priest and was allowed access to the ancient tomes and scrolls within his chambers.  
  
It was during my third year of study that a stranger entered the temple and for the first time in history,   
the temple priests allowed one not born of the temple a place to stay. You see the one who entered the   
temple at that time was none other than Master O and the little bundle that he held protectively within   
his grasp"  
  
Pausing in his story, the High Priest G looked over at Wufei as he stated "And before you ask no, I will   
not give you anymore information. If you want to find out, you will have to ask Master O himself when   
both you and Heero return to the temple" With that said, G turned his attention back to Heero and continued   
on with the story, never once allowing the Chinese boy the time to utter a single word.  
  
"We took the three of you into the temple after preforming the appropriate ceremonies and allowed you to   
stay with us until a proper shrine could be built for the Shenlong child to worship in.  
  
J was still ill a year later and we were no closer to finding a cure for the mysterious illness that struck   
the proper High Priest down. It was when it looked like J would pass on into the next realm that you,   
Heero was finally born.  
  
At once we took you into J's chamber so then he could accept and bless you as the next High Priest. As soon   
as we handed you over to the priest though, his mysterious illness was cured the instant his body came into   
contact with yours.  
  
To this day we still have no idea how that was even possible and J himself would never tell us the reason   
as to why that happened.   
  
Now with the High Priest at full health once again and a new heir for the temple, everything thankfully   
went back to normal. J returned to his position as High Priest and took on the roll of caring for and   
raising the next heir. And I was one of the few privileged enough to see both you and Wufei grow up.  
  
It wasn't until after your fifth birthday and Wufei's sixth birthday when representatives from the kingdom   
of Sanq arrived at the palace and proposed the building of a temple within their own kingdom. The King   
approved the proposal in hope of strengthening ties between our two kingdoms and left the decision up to   
J as to which priests would be sent.  
  
As you both can probably tell, J was not in the least bit pleased at losing any of the priests under him   
but reluctantly had to choose a selection of them. Out of the 30 priests and acolytes within the temple,   
J chose five of each to go to the new one.  
  
It was after those ten were chosen that J had turned to me and offered the position of High Priest.  
  
I accepted his offer of course and when the representatives left to go back to Sanq a few days later, I   
left with them. And as you can obviously see, this is where I have been ever since. Now I'm sure you're   
both very tired from your journey, we can discuss the rest tomorrow and I'll answer any questions you   
have to the best of my abilities, but right now I want nothing more than the two of you to get some rest"   
Standing up from his seat, the High priest made his way over to the door and held it open.   
  
Knowing that they would not get any more information out of the old priest that night, Heero and Wufei   
stood at the same time. Just before leaving the room, Heero turned towards G and quietly said "Until   
tomorrow then" Then continued his way out of the room.  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
  
Duo came bouncing into the crowed pub and headed straight over to the dark corner where he could see   
his friend sitting all alone nursing a full mug of beer before him.  
  
Seating himself across from his friend, the braided boy waved at the barmaid to bring a drink over as   
he casually said "Howard had some pretty interesting things to tell me today"  
  
When all he was answered with was silence, Duo turned his attention away from the young barmaid handing   
over his drink and to his silent friend.  
  
Waving a hand in front of Trowa's face, the braided boy asked "Hey Tro, you alright?"  
  
Blinking back into awareness at the fast motion before his eyes, the archer looked in surprise at his   
friend as he said "Duo! You're here"  
  
Now generally concerned about his friend's odd behaviour, Duo asked "What's going on man? What's got   
you so spooked?"   
  
Trowa broke his gaze with Duo as he glanced down to the warm beverage before him and quietly said "I   
found out something today that you're not going to like one bit"  
  
Removing the mug from his lips, Duo placed it on the table as he asked "And what's that?"  
  
Still keeping his eyes averted from the braided boy, Trowa softly spoke "The village we left the other   
day was destroyed"  
  
Violet eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in anger "Who attacked it?"  
  
Finally returning his gaze to that of Duo's, the archer quietly answered "The villagers say it was a   
red demon that attacked"  
  
Abruptly standing from his seat while at the same time drawing a few questioning stares from some of   
the other customers, burning pools of violet fire stared down into troubled emerald as Duo said "Please   
tell me that this is some sort of bad joke Tro, because I'm not finding it funny if it is"  
  
Never once breaking his gaze, the banged boy answered "I'm afraid it isn't Duo"  
  
"Damn it!" Duo cursed harshly before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm the rage that   
was building up inside.   
  
Opening up his eyes after a few moments, Duo calmly stated "It's been too long a day, I think I'm going   
to turn in for the night…keys?"   
  
Silently throwing the room key to his friend, Trowa watched with worried green eyes as Duo made his way   
out of the pub.  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
  
The sky was a deep blue and crystal clear, allowing the bright rays of sunlight to shine down on the   
busy village below. Emerald green fields of grass stretched for miles over the hilly terrain   
surrounding the valley the village was built between.  
  
Uneven rows of wooden houses with straw roof tops littered the valley as the people of the village went   
on with their daily business.  
  
In the middle of the village where it seemed the sun shone the brightest stood an old church surrounded   
by multicoloured flower beds and a single large tree planted out front.  
  
A childish giggle emanated from within the flowers as a child with long braided chestnut hair and   
vibrant violet eyes popped out from with the multicoloured plants. In a voice full of excitement, the   
child called out "Sister Helen, Sister Helen come and look"  
  
From under the cool shade of the lone tree, a young woman with long light brown hair and kind hazel   
eyes took her attention away from the thin tome she was reading. A gentle smile graced her lips as   
she placed the old looking tome onto the ground before walking over to where the child sat deep within   
the flower bed. Kneeling down at the edge of the garden, Sister Helen continued smiling as she asked   
"What would you like to show me Duo?"  
  
Laughing violet eyes met kind hazel before Duo stood up and ran over to where the young woman knelt   
presenting what was held within his small hands.  
  
Looking at the various coloured flowers held within Duo's hands, she found they were interwoven together   
to create a circlet. A slight look of surprise passed over her face before another warm smile replaced   
it. Reaching a delicate hand out, Sister Helen took the offered item and carefully placed it upon her   
head. Leaning forward, Helen placed a soft kiss on Duo's cheek "Thankyou very much Duo, it's beautiful"  
  
A large smile broke out on the braided child's face before he leapt forward and tightly hugged the   
young woman.  
  
The sound of rushed footsteps could be heard behind the pair. Still hugging the child within her arms,   
Sister Helen turned her head around to find a very concerned looking Father Maxwell hastily making his   
way towards them.  
  
Trying to keep the worry from her voice, Sister Helen gently asked "Is something the matter Father   
Maxwell?"  
  
Hearing the father's name, Duo broke free from Sister Helen's embrace and raced over to envelop the   
elderly man into a tight hug.  
  
The cheery smile planted on the priests face could not hide the worry hidden within his eyes from   
Sister Helen as he looked at the child as he spoke "Hello to you too Duo, I hope you've been keeping   
yourself out of trouble while I've been gone?"  
  
Releasing the aging priest, Duo smiled brightly "Sure I have Father Maxwell" The smile instantly   
faded from the child's face as he stuck out his bottom lip and allowed his violet eyes to brim with   
tears as he asked "Don't you trust me anymore?" Before adding a slight sniffle to his little act.  
  
Laughing heartily at the display, Father Maxwell placed a hand on top of Duo's head "Of course I trust   
you Duo, I just know that you have a knack for getting yourself into trouble"  
  
A grin instantly replaced the pout as Duo cheekily added "And getting out of it too"  
  
Ruffling the boy's hair lovingly, Father Maxwell turned his attention away from Duo and to the quiet   
woman still kneeling on the ground. Though the smile never left his face, Father Maxwell's voice was   
serious as he said "I think it's time you should take Duo inside Sister"  
  
Brushing herself off as she stood, Sister Helen walked over to where Father Maxwell stood looking the   
elderly priest in the eye.  
  
Lowering his voice so then Duo couldn't hear him, Father Maxwell then added "There are strangers in   
the village that look like they could cause trouble"  
  
Nodding her head, Sister Helen took one of Duo's hands into her own as she started to lead the boy back   
towards the church "Come on Duo, lets go inside for a bit"  
  
Curious violet eyes looked up towards Sister Helen as he was lead inside, before entering the building   
though Duo caught a quick glimpse of a long blonde hair boy a few years older than himself standing in   
the middle of the village but before he could see anything else, the large wooden doors of the church   
closed.  
  
As they made their way to the front of the altar, Duo was jerked back as Sister Helen suddenly stopped   
"What's wrong Sister Helen?"  
  
Looking into the child's violet eyes, Sister Helen just smiled slightly before kneeling down on the   
wooden floorboards before the rug. Picking up the corner of the floor rug, Sister Helen lifted it up to   
reveal a hidden trap door beneath it.  
  
Eyes widening in surprise, Duo looked on in surprise and confusion as he asked "What's going on? I   
never knew that was there"  
  
Before she could reassure the child that everything would be fine, the village was filled with terrified   
screams before they were muted by an ear piercing roar that bellowed shortly after.  
  
Inside the church both patrons jumped at the loud sound before Sister Helen hastily opened the trap   
door and none to gently shoved Duo through it. In as calm a voice as possible, the woman said "What ever   
you do Duo, DO NOT come out of here. Do you understand me?"  
  
Worried violet eyes brimming with tears looked into stern hazel as the braided child pleaded "Don't go,   
don't leave m…"   
  
But was cut off as Sister Helen sharply asked again "Do you understand Duo?"  
  
Sniffing as he rubbed his red-rimmed violet eyes, Duo shakily replied "Yes Sister Helen"  
  
Smiling reassuringly, Sister Helen looked lovingly down at the frightened child as she said "Do not   
worry Duo, the God's will not let any harm come to you and neither will I" Before closing the trap door   
and covering it back over with the rug.  
  
Duo watched through the cracks in the floorboards as Sister Helen began to make her way towards the   
church doors. A loud bang was heard as the entire church shook with such force it sent both Sister Helen   
and Duo crashing to the ground.  
  
The terrified woman looked towards the splintering wooden doors as something rammed against the door   
again, splintering the wood even further and causing the building to shake.  
  
Another ear piercing roar was heard as Sister Helen attempted to get to her feet but fell to the ground   
once again as the church trembled violently after another hard hit to the door.  
  
Sharp pieces of wood flew forward as something collided with the door once again cutting the terrified   
woman in various places over her body as she watched on, frozen in shock.  
  
Throwing his hands over his mouth to forcibly stop the scream that threatened to spill, Duo watched on   
in growing horror as the door crumbled and he caught brief glimpses of a blood red winged creature as   
it enter the building.   
  
The stench of death filled the small church as the demon slowly began to advance on the terrified woman.   
Eerie bright green eyes intelligently observed the situation before it as the blood red demon watched   
its prey for the slightest bit of movement.  
  
The walls of the church crumbled suddenly as the demon spread its powerful wings out sending them   
crashing through them while letting out another ear piercing roar before lunging forwards and capturing   
the frightened woman between its powerful jaws.  
  
Tears of fear and hopelessness spilt from violet eyes as a pained filled scream echoed throughout the   
silent church before once again falling quiet.  
  
Seeing the winged demon turned to leave with the body still tightly held within its jaws, the child   
couldn't help the tiny sob of relief from escaping his lips. Violet eyes widened impossible large in   
horror though as the demon stopped dead in its tracks and dropped the limp body held within its jaws.  
  
Piercing green eyes roamed all over the ruined church as it began to make its way back into the   
building sniffing the air as it went.  
  
Every muscle froze within the child's body as he watched in growing terror as the large head of the demon   
descending from above to sniff at the floorboards right above his hiding place. Large drops of saliva   
fell from the creature's jaws as it growled lowly in the back of its throat and began clawing the wood.  
  
It felt as if the blazing green eyes fixed on the floorboards were staring directly into terrified violet   
as another low growl was emitted from the demons throat.  
  
A calm voice from the other end of the room stopped the demon in its tracks as it called out "It's time   
to leave Epyon"  
  
Fiery green eyes turned their attentions away from its hidden prey and to the unknown speaker. Thin   
strands of grey smoke rose up from between the demons clenched teeth, before it lowered its head and   
followed the other out of the ruined church.   
  
A solitary figure in the dark room, bolted up from bed breathing heavily. The moonlight sparkled off the   
thin layer of sweat covering the braided boy's body as a single word was whispered in the dead of the   
night.  
  
"Epyon"  
  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
  
  
Notes: I want to give a big huggle to Pink Cherry Blossom, GoldenRat, CinC, Ashly, kt, Konpeitou,   
Nekocin, Kyra2, x1-TaKeN-oVeR, Daughter of Night§, Ruby Love, japanese blader girl, Star Dragonsong,   
Selune, kurokioku, Water-Soter, Cherrii, EVIL, "...", MoonEnvoy, Soon to be world renown Gracie,   
Kanaloas Wrath and to Tsuki Doriimaa and thank you for all of your great reviews *sniffs* I'm so   
happy to hear that you're all enjoying this ficcie so much.  
  
I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to come out *grins sheepishly* there was a lot of info put   
into this chapter and I didn't want to post it until I was sure I put everything in there that I wanted   
to.  
  
So there you go, finally managed to get some of Duo's past into the story line, yay *dances around   
happily* AND you all found out just what the red demon was, points go out for GoldenRat for figuring   
it out. Though there was heaps of info in this chapter it probably doesn't even answer most of the   
question you guys have about the story line ne? *giggles* Well you will have to be patient but dun   
you guys worry, in time all will be revealed *winks*   
  
Oh and CinC, you don't have to worry about a thing, this fic is no where near finished *winks* to   
tell you the truth…its not even close to be halfway through it yet @_@  
  
Hopefully it won't take me as long to get the next chappie out…it shouldn't since it won't have as   
much info in the next chapter as this one did. For those of you reading it, the next chapter for   
Severed Dreams will probably be out before the next chapter for this fic. So until next chapter   
*huggles* Ja mina-chan. 


	8. Bite of the Dragon

Title: Between Darkness and Light – Bite of the Dragon  
Pairings: 2+1+2, 5+1, 3+4, H+2, R+1, M+5, 13+6, past 6+9   
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all   
additional characters are mine though.  
Betaed: Yes, by the wonderful Yume Maxwell-Yuy, Arigatou Yume-chan!  
  
  
Warnings: Shounen Ai, OOC, violence   
  
  
A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed:   
Heero's 15, Duo's 18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18 and Wufei's 16.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
~#~#~#~ = Change of scene   
~……..~ = Nataku's speech  
'………' = Thoughts   
  
  
  
  
  
  
The golden rays from the sun shone through the temple windows, across the floor   
and filtered through the white drapes, onto the beds single occupant, warming   
the crisp air as it passed.  
  
Yawning softly as he rolled over to avoid the light, a single Prussian eye cracked   
open slightly to look hazily around the bed chambers.  
  
Hearing the doors to the chambers click open, Heero forced his tired body into a   
sitting position, causing the thin white sheet to slide down his thin body as a   
slight yawn escaped his lips.  
  
Running a hand through his messy chocolate locks, the blue eyed Jurei stretched his   
arms out as he looked at the intruder sleepily and smiled softly "Morning Wufei,   
what time is it?"  
  
Bowing his respect, Wufei couldn't stop the smile of relief that spread across his   
face as he saw that, yes, he really had found Heero and that he was safely back with   
him again "Good morning Yuy, it's still early in the morning. I was just checking   
to see if you were awake"   
  
Cocking his head to one side as he took in his friends fully dressed status, a single   
brow rose up as Heero inquired "Going somewhere Chang?"  
  
"As a matter of fact I am. I thought it would be best if I went to the docks to see   
if any of the captains are willing to take us to Enlizer and I was just about to   
leave"  
  
"I will accompany you then" Heero announced as he began to untangle himself from the   
bedspread, but when a hand gently pushed him down again, annoyed Prussian eyes locked   
with onyx as the Jurei growled out "I'm not staying behind. I don't need to be coddled   
Wufei, I may be a year younger than you but that doesn't mean I'm helpless"  
  
Not relenting one bit, Wufei gently cupped Heero's cheek as he seriously said "You've   
been through enough already which included the kidnapping, not to mention all the   
troubles you went through to get to Sanq. Even you need some rest to regain your   
strength Yuy"  
  
Sighing softly as he pulled away from the Shenlong child's touch, Heero's Prussian eyes   
darkened slightly as he spoke, barely managing to keep the bitterness out of his voice   
"Very well, next time though Chang, I will not sit idly by no matter how much you object"   
  
Though the warning was said with no emotion on the others face, the Shenlong Child didn't   
miss the slight darkening of the Jurei's Prussian eyes that's spoke volumes of his   
repressed anger "Thankyou Yuy" Wufei earnestly said as his hand dropped back to his side   
"I should be back around midday"   
  
Nodding his head, stormy blue eyes calmed once more as Heero spoke "While you're gone   
I'll speak with the High Priest, I think it would be best if he's informed about our   
currant situation"  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Standing out on the balcony overlooking the city spread out right to the edge of the far   
off ocean, a few strands of dirty blonde hair swayed gently in the morning breeze as the   
Queen of Sanq quietly observed her kingdom.  
  
This was one of the precious few moments where the ruler of the country could take a few   
quiet minutes to look over her kingdom, knowing that in the days ahead, time will not be   
kind enough to grant her any.  
  
"They're ready for you Queen Relena" A soft voice spoke up from the boundary of the balcony   
and the library that lay beyond.  
  
Taking one last look at the city spread out before her, the young queen turned around to   
face her advisor "Thankyou Noin" Pulling away from the marbled railing, Relena straightened   
out her white gown before stepping past her advisor and through the gold rimmed doors.  
  
From her position draped across the red couch, a pale blonde haired girl gracefully stood   
before silently making her was over to the queen's side as Noin took her position on the   
other.  
  
Only their footsteps echoed throughout the hall as the trio made their way towards the   
meeting chambers.  
  
Red and gold banners decorated the walls with shields and swords situated between each one.   
Etched into each shield was a symbol of a phoenix, its wings spread out around it while   
in the background a circle was placed directly behind the birds head. In the middle of the   
room stood a thin long table in the shape of a semi-circle curving around the area. Right   
at the centre of the table with its back facing the wall behind was a grand chair with   
delicate carvings all along the tall head piece. The back and seat were both padded with   
the same red and gold patterns that were printed on the banners lining the walls. On either   
side of the impressive chair were two similar ones, both reserved for the Queens personal   
advisors.  
  
Taking her seat, her two advisors following suit, Queen Relena took hold of the small   
golden hammer and knocked it twice against the gravel three times to gain every ones   
attention "This session has now come to order" She announced as the room respectfully fell   
silent "Onto the first order of business, General Septem have you any news concerning   
the recent attacks on the neighbouring villages?"   
  
From his position a few chairs clear of the tables end, General Septem focused his   
attention on his queen as he answered "Since the first wave of refugee's came to the city,   
it has been reported that another three have been attacked since, all of which are villages   
surrounding this city. Taking this into account I ask permission to send a tenth of our   
army out to the remaining village of Shokien in a hope to stop whoever's attacking"  
  
From over the other side of the table, Duke Noventa stood up to address the council   
"Excuse me your majesty but wouldn't it be more beneficial to send a larger force? If   
this enemy is as powerful as what's being suggested"  
  
"It is unfortunate these circumstances, but we can not run the risk of sending more troops   
to defend Shokien and leave this city with not enough people to defend it if that time   
shall arrive. These attacks seem to be too well organised to be mealy coincidence and I   
fear that soon whoever's behind these attacks will turn their attention towards this city"   
Turning her attention back towards General Septem, the queen inclined her head slightly   
before continuing "You have my permission to do so General, although for caution I would   
advise taking a runner to accompany the troop"  
  
"Of course your majesty, I will relay your orders as soon as this meeting is adjourned"   
Septem answered.  
  
Keeping her attentions on the General, Queen Relena inquired "How are things fairing at our   
border? Have there been anymore unusual sightings of late?"  
  
Looking down at the few parchments before him, General Septem quickly looked them over before   
answering "There have been reports of unusual Leo sightings close to our border along the   
Sai'har desert, but they have only been seen far off in the distance and as of yet not   
showing any signs of aggression"  
  
"I would like to be kept informed of the situation, it is not usual for the Leo tribe to be   
in the open like this. Is there any other order of business that needs to be discussed?"   
Looking around the table to find that there was no more business to attend to, the Queen   
knocked the hammer three more times "Then this meeting is then adjourned"  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Looking up to see the sun directly above him, Wufei knew that he had already been at the   
docks for all of the morning as it was now early afternoon.  
  
All around the Chinese boy people and sailors alike knocked and bumped their way past the   
Shenlong child as he attempted to make his way through the busy street. The ocean waves   
could barely be heard over the noise the people were making as they made their way through   
the busy docks of Sanq.  
  
Feeling slightly claustrophobic in the heavily crowded area, Wufei quickly sighted a   
relatively empty side street before quickly making his way over to it.  
  
Moving over to the shadows, the Chinese boy sat heavily on the dust covered ground, well   
out of the way of any passers by, in an attempt to rest and collects his thoughts.  
  
'I've asked every captain available with no luck' Absentmindedly watching the crowd, Wufei   
sighed in frustration just before his stomach decided to make itself know by growling   
angrily.  
  
'Perhaps it would be wise to try again after I have rested' Making up his mind, the Shenlong   
Child got to his feet, then began to make his way down the side street back towards the   
temple.  
  
Passing a cross intersection between the buildings, his shoulder bumped into that of   
another's. Though lost in his own thoughts, the sudden loss of weight on his head didn't   
go unnoticed as Wufei quickly spun around to see a short dark haired thief running down   
the opposite alley.  
  
Quickly following the same route, the Chinese boy gave chase to the thief as they swerved   
in and out of various crates lining the walls.  
  
'If this thief thinks he can get away from me then he's got another thing coming' Wufei   
angrily thought as he increased his pace when the thief disappeared around another corner.   
  
Turning down the same street, Wufei skidded to a halt as he came to the brick wall of a   
dead end.  
  
Looking all around him, the Chinese boy could see nothing unusual that gave away the   
location of a hidden door, but a slight movement from above instantly caught his attention   
as Wufei whipped his head up to look.  
  
A soft growl of annoyance escaped his throat as Wufei caught sight of the thief's silhouette   
looking back at him from the roof top of the two story building.  
  
Although the thief's facial features were obscured by shadows due to the sun being directly   
behind them, the Shenlong Child could almost feel the mocking grin of triumph that was   
spread across the others face.  
  
'I vow I will not give up until justice has been served!' When the thief disappeared from   
sight, Wufei grabbed the hilt of his weapon and withdrew his katana as he growled out to   
himself "You have underestimated your opponent thief if you think you've won!"  
  
Narrowing his dark eyes in determination, Wufei quickly scanned the area to see that it   
was clear before bending down to touch the ground with his bare hand.  
  
As the area all around him began to shift and depress, the ground directly beneath the   
Shenlong Child began to rise, lifting Wufei higher up.  
  
Once the mound reached halfway between the ground and the building top, Wufei leapt over   
to the opposite wall before kicking off as hard as he could, hurling himself upwards   
towards his target. Landing gracefully in a crouched position, Wufei smirked in satisfaction   
as he briefly glanced back down to see the mound being reabsorbed into the earth.   
  
Onyx eyes quickly darted around the rooftop area in an attempt to locate the thief and his   
missing circlet, but neither were anywhere to be seen.  
  
Pushing down the growing irritation welling up within him, Wufei closed his eyes and took   
a deep calming breath as he focused the power within him to go in search for his missing   
item.  
  
He was hoping that since he had been using the circlets power for some time now, that he   
would have a sort of connection between them both, similar to his connection to Nataku.  
  
A faint tugging sensation could be felt at the back of his mind, silently demanding to be   
followed. As the Shenlong child focused on that feeling, he continued following the path   
it was showing him until it came to a stop a few blocks from where he was stationed.  
  
Opening his eyes once again, a small smirk graced Wufei's lips as he noted that he was   
facing the opposite direction to where the temple and Heero was. Breaking into a run, Wufei   
easily leapt over the gaps between buildings as he made his way into the poorer section of   
Sanq and towards the location of the missing heirloom.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"Man you should have seen his face when he looked up and realised that he couldn't go any   
further, it was hilarious" Boasted a voice in the alley below him as Wufei silently crept   
up towards the edge of the roof top and carefully peered down.  
  
Growling softly in the back of his throat, Wufei's anger flared up as he watched the thief   
doing poor impressions of his reactions to the theft.  
  
Biting his tongue to keep from making any comments that would give away his surprise attack,   
Wufei's eyes narrowed into angry slits as he watched the thief take out his circlet to show   
of to his circle of friends.  
  
"I wonder how much this will get us anyway, looks like real gold to me"  
  
Looking down in interest at the treasure, one of the other three thieves shrugged his   
shoulders and answered ""No idea, but it should fetch us a decent price"  
  
"Put it on, I want to see what it looks like" Another thief said eagerly, shortly before   
the original thief attempted to place the circlet on top of their head.  
  
Just as the jewelled circlet was positioned over the purple haired thief's head, a painful   
yelp echoed throughout the alleyway as they hastily removed it "The bloody thing shocked me!"  
  
Looking their friend over, the first thief asked "You alright there Hilde? What the hell   
happened?"   
  
Seeing all of his opponents were momentarily distracted, Wufei smirked as he leapt over the   
edge of the building, landing gracefully behind the thief called Hilde.   
  
Smirking inwardly at their shocked expressions as each turned to face him, Wufei calmly stood   
up from his crouched position and demanded "Hand back what you stole from me and I'll let you   
leave here in one piece"  
  
The three large men standing behind their smaller purple haired companion laughed heartily   
at his words as they each took up a position in front of Hilde "And just what do you think   
you will do if we refuse pip-squeak?"  
  
Bringing his weapon up before him, Wufei answered "Then I will have to force you to give it   
back"  
  
"Oh yeah? Is that so?" The same thief asked as he, along with his other two friends, pulled   
out their daggers to the challenge "Well then, show us what you can do then"  
  
Clearly not in the mood to for any types of games, Wufei released one hand from the hilt of   
his sword and threw it out quickly to the side, causing the earth beneath the attackers to   
tremble violently.  
  
Gripping the hilt of the sword with both hands once again, all that could be seen was a blur   
as Wufei rushed into the group of distracted thieves and swiftly knocked them out with the   
flat of his sword.  
  
As the three bodies fell lifelessly to the floor, Wufei looked up to find the obviously   
shocked thief for the first time.  
  
Onyx eyes widened in surprise as he took in the female form before him before he sputtered   
out "I was robbed by an onna!?" As her blue eyes narrowed, Wufei's hands clenched his   
weapon tightly as he growled out "Hand it back to me and you won't get hurt"  
  
Taking a step backwards as her hand tightened around the gold circlet, Hilde's eyes   
darkened in anger as she spat "Damn you!" before making a run for it in the opposite   
direction.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Wufei simply flicked his wrist slightly, causing the earth beneath the   
retreating thief to buck up, sending her crashing down to the ground.  
  
Calmly closing the distance between the two, Wufei pointed the tip of his katana to Hilde's   
throat as he coldly said "I'm only letting you off easily because you're a woman, steal   
from me again though and I wont hold back"   
  
Ignoring the glare being directed at him, Wufei removed his sword shortly before snatching   
the circlet from her hands. Sheathing his weapon, Wufei replaced the gold circlet upon his   
head, once again covering the Dragon mark upon his brow, before turning around and walking   
away from the area.  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Bringing his hand up to shield his eyes from the sunlight, Duo stepped through the doorway   
closely followed by Solo. It only took him a few seconds for his eyes to readjust, turning   
his gaze back to his friend, Duo asked "Interested in coming to the Barge for a drink with   
Tro and me?"  
  
Shrugging his shoulders, Solo stuck his head back through the door as he yelled "Oi! Tell   
Howard I'm going out for a bit" Shutting the doors, Solo wrapped and arm around the   
braided boy's shoulder pulling him into a one armed hug "To the Barge!" He called out   
joyfully as he pointed in the direction of the tavern.   
  
From the shade on the other side of the street, Trowa detached himself from the stone   
wall when he saw Duo and Solo emerge from their meeting. Making his way over to the pair   
a single brow rode up in curiosity as the quiet archer asked "How did the meeting go?"  
  
Trying unsuccessfully to throw Solo's grip from him, Duo quickly slipped out under the   
others hold and darted around to the safety of Trowa's other side. Sticking his tongue   
out at the blonde, the braided thief then answered "Fine, we now officially have the quest   
to go in search of this treasure everyone's been beating themselves up over. Howard wants   
us to find it for him so then he can personally hand it to the Queen and apologize for all   
that's happened. He's going to be busy in the meantime though trying to figure out who's   
the one going behind his back… I'll tell you one thing though, I don't envy the guy when   
Howie finds him"  
  
Turning the corner, the group entered the main street of Sanq, Trowa's gaze automatically   
scanning the crowed area as he replied "Very well, any clues as to where this treasure is?"  
  
Locking his hands behind his head as he walked, a grin was sent the archer's way as Duo   
spoke "Looks like we're in luck, Howie's guys say there's a lot of activity in and around   
the city, activity as in unofficial patrols of unmarked men. My guess is that the treasure   
was picked up by some poor schmuck who doesn't know just what or how valuable the thing   
really is and judging by all this activity going on, who ever picked it up is or will soon   
be in this city. So all we have to do is find the guy before OZ or the rouge's do, simple   
really"  
  
Rolling his eyes at his friend's optimism Solo's gaze left the passing fruit stalls as he   
stepped in front of Trowa "Simple yeah right! Kid you're a real idiot sometimes, did you   
know that? I mean how on earth are you going to find this guy? You don't even know what   
this guy looks like even if, and I say if, your theory is correct"  
  
Sticking his bottom lip out in a pout, Duo sulked "Geeze Solo, talk about taking the fun   
out of the adventure, who invited you along anyway?"  
  
With a wide grin stretching over his face, the blonde thief replied "I'm afraid you're   
the one to blame for that, plus I've got nothing better to do at the moment and from what   
I can see, you'll need all the help you can get"  
  
An ox pulled cart filled to the brim with wheat slowly made its way past the trio as they   
walked past yet another one of the many side alleys of Sanq.  
  
Sensing it too late, just as they begun to make their way pass the alley, someone else   
came running out at the same time crashing right into the braided thief and sending the   
pair of them to the ground, Duo pinned beneath the other.  
  
Trowa and Solo were both instantly at their braided friend's side, the archer checking   
his friend's state while the blonde thief went to check the other.  
  
Coming out of his daze, the violet eyed thief leant up onto his elbows as he heard the   
offender mutter a quiet "Sorry"  
  
Recognising the voice in an instant a smile broke out on Duo's face "Hilde?!"  
  
The others dirty face shot up as their blue eyes locked onto violet, mirroring the smile,   
Hilde laughed happily as she threw her arms around the braided thief, hugging him tightly   
"Duo! You're back!"  
  
Returning the hug, Duo gave an extra squeeze before releasing his grip and allowing Solo   
to help the girl to her feet. Taking Trowa's offered hand, the braided thief pulled   
himself up "Yeah I'm back, it's been awhile now hasn't it?"  
  
Thanking Solo for his help, Hilde instantly latched onto Duo's arm, smiling brightly up   
at him "Yeah, you've been gone too long if you ask me. It's not the same around here   
without you Duo"  
  
Grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, Duo shrugged casually "Sorry Hil,   
but you know how things are" Noticing the light layer of dirt covering her face, Duo   
raised his hand to wipe some of it off as he asked "So what's the deal?"  
  
A faint blush spread across Hilde's nose and over her cheeks at the thief's gentle touch   
as she continued to stare into the violet pools. The blush soon disappeared as the most   
recent events entered her mind, eyes hardening in anger, Hilde growled "Stole some guy's   
circlet, I mean he was easy prey, walking through the backstreets of the wharf like he   
owned the place. He chased me for a while but I was able to lose him once I got to the   
old storage buildings. I ran what? Maybe two blocks from there over the roof tops I might   
add, thinking that there was no way that he could find me but no! The stupid asshole   
drops out of the sky while I was showing what I got to Robertson and the guys, demanding   
that I hand it back to him. The bastard then whips out this huge sword and beats the   
crap out of the guys, knocked those losers out in a single hit, bloody good for nothing   
weak bastards if you ask me.  
  
Anyway, as I was trying to make my get away, I don't know how to describe it but it felt   
like the ground beneath me tripped me if you can believe it, I know it sounds crazy but   
that's what it felt like" Shrugging her shoulders, Hilde snorted quietly before she   
finished "Next thing I knew I had a sword pointed at my throat and he took his circlet   
back. Moral of the story, don't steal from kids who carry around swords"  
  
Sharing a quick glance with the archer, Duo turned his attention back to Hilde as he   
asked "Was that sword of his a Katana by any chance?"  
  
Wrinkling up her nose in thought, the dark haired thief was silent for a few moments   
before she replied "Not sure, it could have been one"  
  
Wanting to confirm his suspicions Duo pushed "Did he happen to have black hair pulled   
back into a tight pony tail and was wearing a blue tunic with a gold dragon insignia on   
the front?"  
  
"Yeah he did! And that same dragon symbol was on his forehead, must have been hidden by   
his circlet because I didn't see it before I snatched the thing"   
  
"Wufei" Both Duo and Trowa said in union, at that realization the braided thief's heart   
almost jumped up into his throat as thoughts of a certain Prussian eyed boy came into   
mind, but before he could inquire if Heero was with the disgruntled warrior, something   
else caught his attention "Did you just say that there was a dragon symbol on his forehead?"  
  
Nodding her head, Hilde frowned slightly as she said "Yeah it looked like some sort of   
tattoo, weird place for one though… Hey! Do you know the guy?"  
  
Too lost in his own thoughts to hear the question, Duo turned his attention to Trowa as   
the quiet archer stated "It seems as though more is going on with those two than they let   
on"  
  
"Yeah looks like you're right on this one Tro" The braided thief answered as he sighed.  
  
Not happy at being ignored, Hilde tugged on Duo's arm before she whined "Duo, I asked if   
you knew him?" As the sudden thought came to the dark haired thief, a smirk crossed her   
features as she asked "Let me guess, you got your ass kicked too when you tried to steal   
from him?"  
  
Snapping back to the conversation at hand, the beginnings of a blush began to appear as   
Duo stammered out "Well no not exactly… you see… umm his friend"   
  
But Duo was quickly cut off by Hilde as she asked "You tried to steal from his friend and   
he caught you in the act I bet?"  
  
"Umm… well… I guess you could say that" Duo began to explain but for once in his life it   
seemed that he couldn't find any words to answer with.  
  
Getting bored of just standing there, Solo threw an arm each around Duo and Hilde as he   
stuck his head between the two and announced "Even though this conversation if oh so   
fascinating, can we please just continue on our way to the Barge, the ale is calling my   
good fellows" After receiving a jab to the ribs by Hilde's elbow, the blonde thief   
hastily added "and women of course"  
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
Walking swiftly through the quiet halls of the temple, Wufei quickly made his way through   
the main hall, past the study area and headed towards the inner garden area of the temple.  
  
The air circulating throughout the marbled corridors began to smell sweeter, almost like   
the temple gardens back home as he left the salty sea air behind him and ventured further   
within.  
  
Wide collum's of light reflected off the white floors as Wufei turned yet another corner   
to finally meet with the archway leading to the inner sanctums gardens, the most sacred   
place within any temple.  
  
Stopping just before the archway, Wufei turned his attention up towards the detail carved   
right into the marble itself.  
  
A small smile flickered across the Chinese boy's features as he took in the intricate   
designs of the men, women and children as they lived their lives as they do now. Frozen   
in poses of work, some looked to be chatting amongst themselves while the children played   
around them. Bordering the tiny sculptured people were delicate vines weaving in and out   
of themselves, each of them sprouting leaves and small flowers.  
  
Following the design up along the archway, the small smile softened somewhat when his   
gaze came to rest what was sculptured right at it peak. Identical to the crystal statue   
out in the main hall, was the carved portrait of the Goddess of Life, Jurei. Her face was   
set in a gentle smile as she looked down from her place in the heavens to the people below.   
Long delicate robes flowed out around her and the surrounding area as the Jurei's long hair   
could be seen cascading down her back. Stone eyes that should have been dull and lifeless   
seemed to sparkle with inner life as the sunlight refected of them. Carved around her   
forehead was a replica of the same circlet that now rested around Heero's own.   
  
Looking slightly above the sculptured Goddess, onyx eyes rested on the very symbol that   
was forever upon his friend's forehead, the symbol of the Holy Blue Flame.  
  
Tearing his vision away from the sacred mark, Wufei took the last remaining steps to the   
gardens to stop on the threshold as a stray white butterfly flittered gently past him.  
  
As the delicate insect passed by, Wufei turned his attention to the sun lit garden and   
shook his head in amusement as the sight that greeted him.  
  
There sitting silently on the grass bathed in the suns gentle light was Heero Yuy. His soot   
coloured eyelashes sitting softly against the top of his cheeks as he sat there with his   
eyes closed, calmly inhaling a deep breath.  
  
The multicoloured and somewhat shimmering clothing he was wearing burst to life at Heero's   
gentle movement as from all around him, hundreds of butterflies flew up into the air at   
once from their resting place on the Jurei, casting multiple flickering shadows over his   
features as they sailed higher into the clear blue sky above.  
  
Stunned into silence as he watched the beautiful display, Wufei almost missed the quiet   
words that Heero spoke.  
  
"I have to make a note not to sit in one place for too long these days" Dusting himself   
off as he stood, Heero brushed the last traces of grass from his black pants before   
turning his piercing blue gaze onto his friend.  
  
Mentally shaking himself out of his stupor, a smirk appeared on Wufei's face as he asked   
"Just how long were you sitting there Yuy?"  
  
Looking up to the sky momentarily, Heero returned his gaze back to his friend as he   
shrugged slightly and responded "Two hours perhaps, I came out here after speaking to G   
about our situation"   
  
Gesturing for his friend to follow, Heero began to slowly make his way over to the lifeless   
flower bed situated around a stone fountain embedded within the opposite wall to the   
entrance. Sitting down once again before the empty patch of dirt, a delicate hand reached   
out to hover over the earth as Heero softly spoke "How did your search go? Were you able   
to find us a ship?"  
  
Sitting down cross-legged beside his friend, the Shenlong child watched on in admiration   
as tiny green buds broke through the soil "Unfortunately no, the port was filled with   
nothing but cowards. As soon as I mentioned our destination they scattered like rats"   
Although the topic still infuriated the Chinese boy, Wufei found though that watching the   
new flowers blooming, relaxed and calmed the anger burning inside.  
  
As the power flowing through his hand faded away, a small smile graced Heero's lips as he   
gently touched the new petals with his fingertips "You can not blame them Wufei, the   
embargo Enlizer put on itself would be enough to scare off any would be traveller who   
did not grow up within its walls. I've found that most people here believe the palace to   
be a fairytale, since only a select few outsiders have ever travelled there" Satisfied   
that the new plants were strong and healthy, Prussian eyes turned their attention over   
to Shenlong Child as Heero continued "What we need to do now is find an alternate rout   
to take us back to the palace"  
  
Nodding his heading agreement, Wufei thoughtfully suggested "The High Priest might be   
worth asking"  
  
Standing up in a single fluid motion Heero waited for his friend to join him before the   
pair silently made their way out of the inner gardens and to the High Priests study   
chambers.  
  
Walking ahead of the Jurei, the Shenlong child walked up to the large oak doors and   
knocked loudly three times before a slightly muffled "Come in" was heard.  
  
Opening the door the pair entered the room, taking the two empty seats before the large   
desk which situated the old mushroom haired priest on the opposite side.  
  
Peering through his hair at his two guests, the High priest G asked "What can I do for   
you?"  
  
Sitting up a little straighter in his seat Wufei spoke "As you already know we need to   
get back to Enlizer as soon as possible, but with their embargo no ships are willing to   
take us there. So we come to you, do you know of any possible way for us to return?"  
  
Leaning back in his seat as his fingertips absentmindedly drummed on the solid wood desk   
top, the High priest was quiet for some time before an approval sound was made at the   
back of his throat "I may know of a way" Standing up from his chair, the High priest G   
made his way over to the overfilled bookcase. Running his fingers along the spines of   
each tome, a triumphant "Ah" was heard as the aging priest removed an olive green leather   
tome from the shelves before returning to his chair behind the desk.  
  
While scanning through the worn pages G's gaze never left the book as he spoke "There   
are no other means of transportation between the mainland and Enlizer apart from the   
shipping routs from Sanq and some of the surrounding village's"  
  
A wide grin spread across his aged face as the priest came upon the page he as looking   
for. Turning the tome around as he pointed to a particular part on the page, G explained   
"This village however may hold the answer to your question. If it had been anyone else   
but you two asking me this question, this choice wouldn't even be a possibility"  
  
Leaning forward to look at what the priest was pointing to, both Heero and Wufei were   
surprised to find an ancient map spanning across each page.  
  
Turning their attentions to where the priest was pointing, both boys could see a small   
village drawn right in the middle of the mountain ranges situated at the top left of   
the mainland. Although no name was written for the village, like most of the other   
smaller village's, both the Jurei and the Shenlong child felt something was off as   
Wufei questioned "How can a village set in the opposite direction to where we want to   
go help us get back to Enlizer?"  
  
Amusement showed on the old priests face as he answered "As I said before, if it were   
anyone else but the two of you, I would not even bother showing this map to them. If   
you would look on any other map besides this one and a few back at the Amara temple   
at Enlizer, you would never find this particular village on it.  
  
You might find some experienced traveller who has heard of it but no outsider of the   
village has set foot within it for centuries and with only one incident sixteen years   
ago, no villager has ever left.  
  
You see, this village is the village of the ancient Dragon Clan that worshiped the   
dragon god Shenlong and it resides at the base of what was once called the great Nibel   
ranges"  
  
At hearing the name of the village, onyx eyes widened in surprise as Wufei quietly   
asked "The Dragon Clan?"   
  
Nodding his head at the question, G's face broke into a smile "Yes Wufei, the Dragon   
Clan and before you ask it, yes it is the same village you, Nataku and Master O came   
from sixteen years ago"  
  
With his voice filled with rare enthusiasm, Wufei looked directly into the old priests   
eyes as he asked "When should we leave?"  
  
Chuckling slightly at the Shenlong child's actions, G slid the tome back before him as   
he answered "In two days at the most, that's how long it should take me to copy the   
map over to some parchment for your journey. You will need to stock up on supplies as   
it is quite a long journey to the Dragon Clan village and the next village is a good   
four day hike from Sanq. There's one other village along the way and from there on   
horse back, it may take you about a week or more to reach the Dragon Clan village"  
  
Standing up from his seat Heero inclined his head slightly as he asked "Could you also   
provide us with mounts for our journey?"  
  
"Of course Jurei" G replied as he too got up from his seat, watching the pair as they   
began to leave he then added as an after thought "Heero, you should also see that   
child before you leave, your visit might cheer her up somewhat"  
  
A slight smile fell across his lips as thoughts of his young friend entered his mind,   
nodding his head once again, the smile never left Heero's face as he along with Wufei   
left the room to prepare for the long journey ahead.   
  
  
~#~#~#~#~#~#~  
  
  
"What is the position of our troops Lady Une?" Treize's silky voice asked from the   
balcony, his azure eyes calmly watching the raging waves below as they crashed against   
the cliff rocks.   
  
Making her way through the study, a single hand came up to brush aside the lose strands   
of hair from her face as Lady Une stepped out onto the balcony "All is going well your   
Excellency, reports say that the troops are less than two days away from the border.   
The Leo tribe are stationed at the border already and are in the process of setting up   
the gateway. Once our main forces arrive, they should be ready for transport to the   
area just outside of Sanq and ready to advance on the beginning of the second day as   
predicted"  
  
Turning his attention away from the roaring ocean, Treize made his way over to the   
large black cage hanging in the corner of the balcony. The soft sound of a birds   
chirping greeted him as he placed his hand in the cage, idly stroking the soft light   
blue feathers, Treize spoke "Good, has Otto reported any sightings of the Jurei since   
he entered the capital?"  
  
"Yes my Lord, he reported that not long after the Jurei entered the city, he and his   
travelling companion took refuge in the Dasha temple, since then only his travelling   
companion has left the temple. Otto has reason to believe that his new companion is   
none other than the Shenlong child and wants to know what course of actions should be   
taken"  
  
Azure eyes focused solely on the bird before him as without warning, Treize changed   
the topic "Beautiful isn't it? This small bird is actually one of the legendary Tsubasa.   
Legend tells us that centuries ago the Goddess of Life became depressed, as her   
depression deepened the life on the planet began to be effected by it also. The others   
gods tried everything in their power to cheer the depressed Goddess up but every one   
of them failed. That was until the day the only god who had not attempted the challenge   
came forward. That god was none other than Shinigami himself, he came with two small   
gems within his hands. Though still depressed, the Goddess of Life became intrigued as   
to what the other had planned.  
  
Standing before the Goddess, Shinigami held the stones in one hand while his other went   
to pluck a singe white strand of hair from upon the Jurei's head and a single black one   
from his own.  
  
Placing one strand upon a blue gem each, Shinigami gently grasped one of the Goddesses   
hands and placed it over his own. The God of Death then spoke of his love for the Jurei   
and as he spoke their joined hands began to glow softly.  
  
Like the sun appearing from behind a cloud, the Jurei's smile brightened up the whole   
room as she too told Shinigami of her love for him.  
  
Opening their hands, the two gods looked down to find two small birds preening themselves   
without a care in the world, one male bird and a single female.  
  
Now of course there are thousands of these birds on this planet, all the offspring of   
those original two birds. This one though, this one is one of the original two birds, the   
male one to be exact. I attempted to find the female years ago but unfortunately found   
out that it had perished some time ago. A pity really, would have been nice to have a   
matching set"  
  
A smile graced his features as the small blue bird within the cage jumped up onto the   
palm of his hand. Watching the bird for a moment, his hand quickly closed around the small   
creature, tightening his grip even further as the faint sounds of struggle could be heard.   
Once all went silent again, Treize opened his hand and released the lifeless body from   
his grasp as he eventually answered the original question "We have no use for the child,   
the Jurei is the only one we need. If he intends to impede my plans, Otto has my permission   
to dispose of the boy"  
  
Bowing her respect before she began to leave, Lady Une froze on the spot as Treize spoke   
again "Oh and Lady Une"  
  
Turning around to face her Lord, Lady Une asked "Yes your Excellency?"  
  
Looking over his shoulder, Treize added "And please tell Otto he has up until the attack   
to try and capture the Jurei if the opportunity arises, we can not afford to accidentally   
lose him in the up and coming battle"  
  
"I will do as you ask" Bowing one final time Lady Une straightened once more before   
leaving Treize alone on the balcony once more.  
  
Turning his attention back to the cage, a single gloved hand reached out and held still   
just above the dead animal. A language almost as old as time itself parted quietly from   
moving lips as their owner closed their azure eyes in concentration. From beneath the   
gloved hand a pale grey mist began to emerge, getting stronger and thicker with each word   
the sandy haired man spoke.  
  
Lightly landing on the soft blue feathers below, the grey mist slowly began to disappear   
once again as the tiny birds feet began to twitch slightly. The glassed over look within   
the birds amber rimmed black eyes began to moisten again before the creatures lids blinked   
once, then twice before the dark eyes within began to move rapidly from side to side.   
Jumping up to its feet, the bird spread its short wings and few up to perch itself on the   
top of Treize's hand, happily chirping away.  
  
Looking down at the cheerfully chirping bird, a smile of satisfaction spread across Treize's   
face as his azure eyes landed on a tiny black rose upon the creature's chest. Opening the   
cage door fully, Treize allowed the bird to hop off his hand as he withdrew it out of the   
cage, taking a step away, his face turned thoughtful as he spoke "Come now"  
  
Preening its feathers once more for show, the small blue bird jumped down to the door of   
the cage, took one look around the area before spreading its wings and flying over to   
the stone railing.  
  
Closing the door to the cage, Treize turned to face the small bird once again as he   
spoke "Otto's reports are thorough enough but there is still much that goes unaccounted   
for... With the upcoming attack on Sanq, if we lose sight of the Jurei during it our   
plans will be ruined" Taking a few steps towards the bird he then continued "This is   
where you come along but you are no use to me in this form" Throwing his arm out to   
the side, Treize loudly commanded "Awaken Aries!"  
  
The instant those words left his mouth, the dark mark upon the bird's chest began to   
glow a dark red colour as a thick black smoke poured out of the birds mouth, entirely   
engulfing its small body and surrounding area. The smoke continued to expand until it   
was almost twice the size of a normal human's height. In the mitts of the black cloud   
only a pair of blood red eyes could be seen staring out as an unexpectedly soft female   
voice spoke "Why have you summoned me Necromancer?"  
  
Through the smoke, a human form could faintly be seen as it faded in and out of sight.   
Seeing those blood red eyes focused solely on him, Treize returned the gaze as he   
answered "There is someone of great importance that I need you to keep an eye on but   
it is vital that they do not see you for if they do, they will go into hiding"  
  
All around the demon, the dark grey smoke had highlights of red as the creature's eyes   
blazed with fury "You summoned me to baby sit some human?!"   
  
Nodding his head Treize ignored Aries anger as he calmly replied "Yes but the one you   
are suppose to… baby sit as you called it, is none other than the Jurei"  
  
The anger instantly fled the demon as understanding dawned on it "The Jurei? Very well   
Necromancer, I will do your bidding"  
  
"Thankyou dear Aries, the Jurei is currently at the capital of Sanq, be warned though,   
the Shenlong child is also there protecting you charge"   
  
"The Shenlong Child is of no challenge to me at the moment he is still too weak… I will   
heed you warning though" The voice spoke after a moment of silence before the smoke   
disappeared to reveal the small blue bird once again.  
  
The instant the tiny bird's feet touched the stone railing a violent shudder ran through   
its body. Its bright chirping began to higher in pitch as its body could be seen   
twisting and turning in different directions as it began to expand and grow. Large   
powerful talons grew where once delicate claws were, the once sky blue feathers turned   
black as its inky colour bled its way over the growing birds entire body. Its little   
orange beak began to sharpen and elongate as its wings and tail feathers both shuddered   
violently both easily doubling the new size of the bird.   
  
As the shudders subsided the bird once more stood up and where once was a small bird,   
only large enough to fit in the palm of a human hand, now stood a large bird, the size   
of a small child.  
  
Stretching out its powerful wings, the large bird shrilled loudly as the remaining amber   
of its eyes along with its beak and talons turned jet black. Folding its large wings   
back into its body, the dark bird closed its eyes for a moment and then opened them once   
more to reveal one blood red eye and the other a sky blue, almost azure in colour.  
  
Tilting its head to the side, the massive birds blue eye began to brighten in colour as   
the dark creature spoke, never once opening its beak "Can you see?" It asked hauntingly   
as its single red eye carefully watched the human before it.  
  
Closing his own eyes as they to began to brighten, an image of himself and the study   
behind him standing there motionless, appeared in his minds eye. Still with his eyes   
closed, Treize lifted his left arm as he watched the image before him did the exact same   
motion. Lowering his arm once more, Treize opened his eyes once more "Yes" He confirmed,   
his eyes back to their normal azure colour once more "This will be perfect, go now Aries"  
  
Inclining its head slightly, Aries spread out its impressive wingspan before leaping over   
the edge of the balcony, hurling itself towards the waves below. Skimming the wave tops   
with the tips of its wings, Aries glided smoothly across the water before changing   
directions and flying off to the west.  
  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
  
Tenshi: Wow…this is my longest chapter yet, I hope you enjoyed it though and as you can   
probably already tell…things will start to get a little more chaotic in this ficcie   
soon o_O So what will happen next? Nobody knows….err…well I do but umm…yeah *grins sheepishly*  
  
Also a word of warning, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update any of my ficcies next,   
you see not only am I moving house but I'm also going to be moving countries. So I'll be   
without any internet or computer access for a while, but dun worry during this time, I'll   
be mostly free from any distractions so I'm hoping to write a few chapters for each of   
my stories including this one.   
  
I want to give a big thanks to Pink Cherry Blossom, Ashly, Kyra, Konpeitou, CinC,   
GoldenRat, Yume Maxwell-Yuy, CuriousDreamWeaver, Star Dragonsong, kanaloas wrath, Ruby Love,   
Tsuki Doriimaa, kt, Animegurl14, KittyDawningWWE, MiruSedna, tima, Mite Mite, KuraiMoon   
and to DeGrella Carrie *huggles* Thankyou so much for all you're great reviews! 


	9. A Shadow of Things to Come

Title: Between Darkness and Light – A Shadow of Things to Come

Pairings: 2-1-2, 5-1, 3-4, H-2, R-1, M-5, 13-6, past 6-9  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the GW characters but the story and all additional characters are mine though.  
Betaed: Yes! But the kawaii Ashly-chan -glomps and huggles- arigatou Ashly-chan!

Warnings: Shounen Ai, OOC, violence A/N: All the boys are different ages in this story, they are as followed: Heero's 15, Duo's 18, Trowa's 19, Quatre's 18 and Wufei's 16. -#-#-#- Change of scene  
-........- Nataku's speech  
'........' Thoughts 

Not long after getting into the pub, they ordered their drinks then moved to sit at the table in the corner. Moving across the bench first, Duo slid across, the space he previously occupied quickly being taken by Hilde as she sat down beside him. Taking a drink of his ale 'Man it feels good to be back' the braided thief thought to himself as the cool liquid trailed down his throat, it had been far too long since he'd last been back to Sanq that he didn't even care if he had to work while he was back.

Solo brushed aside a few stray blonde locks from his face as he sat down beside Trowa, his eyes scanning the pubs insides "The Barge seems kind of dead today"

"All the more lucky for us" Duo said, placing the mug onto the wooden table before him. Glancing at the girl beside him, the braided thief grinned as he asked "So Hilde babe, wanna help us out with a little mission we're on?"

A light blush spread across her cheeks at his words before a look of interest passed over before turning into one of suspicion "Mission? What kind of mission? Forgive me Duo if I seem a little hesitant but the last time you got me involved into one of your 'missions' I was stuck down in the sewers all night waiting for something that never happened in the end anyway" Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest and turned her attention away from Duo, deliberately ignoring the braided boy.

"Aww come now Hilde, how was I supposed to know they changed their meeting place at the last minute. You know there wasn't enough time to tell you of the change, if we did we would have missed the whole thing" Duo whined, violet eyes shimmering in the dull light 'Trust Hilde to still hold that against him, it happened 3 years ago for crying out loud!' his mind screamed.

Glancing sideways, Hilde felt her resolve lessen as she caught sight of his puppy-dog look. Sighing in defeat, she uncrossed her arms and turned back to face him "Fine, but I'll tell you this now, I'm not going back down into the sewers no matter how much you plead and beg."

Grinning from ear to ear, Duo's eyes lit up as he excitedly yelped "Great!" Turning back to face Trowa and Solo Duo leaned forward slightly, Hilde mirroring his actions, as he quietly spoke, his gaze locked with Solo's "Now what I need for you and Hilde to do is to use your contacts around the city to try and sniff out any information you can about the unmarked patrols moving around the city, who they might work for and how much they exactly know and if at all possible, without causing too much suspicion, try to find out if your contacts know anything at all about the jewel. One of them is bound to have heard something by now, especially with all the commotion going around now to find it"

Absolutely confused over what was being said between the three males, Hilde blinked a few times as she listened to Duo before butting in "Whoa wait up a second, extra patrols? And what's this about a jewel?"

"No time to explain fully now, Solo can fill you in along the way. Incase you haven't noticed we're on a time limit here. We need to find the jewel before any of those patrols do" Duo replied, his violet eyes glancing to the side at Hilde before returning to Solo, a challenging glint shining in his eyes "Think you can handle it?"

Bringing the mug up to his lips, Solo downed the entire contents in one gulp before slamming the mug down onto the table "Of course I can handle this, but the question isn't if I can handle it or not, its what are the two of you up to while we're off working our butts off?"

"We're going to be checking out another possibility, it's a long shot but I figure it's worth a try. The thing is they're not likely to take kindly if more than just Tro and I go which is why I want the two of you to nose around for some information incase my hunch turns out to be a bust" Duo loosely explained.

"Fine fine have it your way" standing up from his seat, Solo offered his hand to Hilde "We should head off"

Looking to Solo, to his hand then finally to Duo, a shy smile appeared on her lips as a light blush crept across her cheeks "Once this is done I want to have a talk about us, okay?"

Blinking in confusion, the braided boy just nodded his head automatically as he responded "Yeah sure Hilde"

Leaning forward she placed a light kiss on his cheek before taking Solo's hand and almost jumping out of her seat "Excellent, then I'll see you when this jobs done"

Staring off into space as Solo and Hilde left the pub, Duo blinked a few more times before focusing his attention on Trowa "Have any idea what on earth she was going on about? Cause I sure as hell don't"

Shrugging his shoulders, the quiet archer simply sipped at his drink before quietly replying "No idea, in any case what was this idea of yours?" He asked, although he had a fairly good idea of what it was going to be.

"Hey you don't think that either Heero or Wufei has the jewel do you?" Duo asked as he leant back carefully on the bench, sipping the cool ale. 

Staring into his drink, Trowa turned his attention back towards his friend "it is a possibility, it seems too much of a coincidence that there are two people from Enlizer roaming around"

Though his bangs covered his violet eyes, Duo's vision never left that of the quiet archer as he added "And don't forget the fact that Heero had been attacked before we found him out on that beach. Perhaps he was traveling with his friends when the thieves attacked, kidnapping Heero thinking that he was the one who had the jewel but then dumped him after finding out he didn't have it"

Taking a sip as he thought over what was being said the quiet archer replied "That would make sense, are you thinking they kidnapped the wrong one and that Wufei actually has the jewel on him?"

Leaning out of the shadows, the grin spreading over Duo's face confirmed his suspicions even before the braided thief spoke up "I'm almost positive of it, remember Hilde said she stole a gold circlet from Wufei.... And if my memory serves me correctly, that same circlet had a pretty impressive stone embedded in it"

Placing his mug back on the table top, Duo's face scrunched up slightly in thought as he mentioned "What bothers me though are the markings on their foreheads, I think Heero was partly telling the truth about it symbolizing their status within his temple but I think it means more than he's letting on. There's also this Jurei business that Mr Stick-up-the-ass referred Heero as"

"That's correct" Trowa agreed as he added his own thoughts to their discussion "Let us not forget how Wufei is one of the Dragon Clan also"

"I think" Duo said, taking hold of the rim of his mug as he twirled the base on the hard wood table "that we need to do a little investigation on the matter... perhaps even get an up-close and personal look if at all possible, they couldn't of left the city yet at least not through the ports anyway since all shipping's been canceled to Enlizer"

Finishing off his drink, Trowa stood up, his emerald gaze locked onto his friends "Then we better get to work, just be careful Duo, you do remember the last encounter you had with that Wufei, it wouldn't be good for the mission if either of you got yourself injured"

"Ahh Tro you worry too much, besides I'm sure he's long over it by now anyway" Duo said before silently adding to himself as he got up from his seat 'Or at least I hope so'

-#-#-#-#-#-#-

The street was alive with trade as two cloaked figures made their way through the crowd. Merchants called out from behind their stalls in an attempt to lure potential shoppers to their products and away from their rivals.

From beneath the hood of one of the two cloaked figures, brilliant Prussian orbs drank in the atmosphere as their owner followed silently behind his companion.

"Stick close Yuy, the church should be around the next intersection" Wufei stated, absentmindedly reaching back and grasping his friend's hand as they continued their way through the crowd.

Turning his attention to the Shenlong child, Heero sighed softly before speaking, annoyance lightly coloring his voice "I don't need to be babysat Chang, I'm quite capable of taking care of myself" Looking around at all the shoppers surrounding them, Heero's gaze eventually returned to his friend as his free hand moved up to remove the hood of his cloak. Chocolate bangs fell over his deep blue eyes, obscuring most of the jewel embedded within the gold circlet upon his brow "Besides, don't you think we stand out underneath these cloaks? I mean look around, we're the only ones wearing them"

Stopping his movements, Wufei released his hold on the Jurei's hand as he followed Heero's actions and removed his hood. The brilliant green stone glittering alongside the gold in the sun "We wouldn't have had to bother at all if you stayed within the safety of the temple Yuy, it's for your own safety"

Adjusting the sleeve of his cloak, Heero retorted "And if one remembers what was said earlier today then we shouldn't even be having this conversation. Now let's move on, I do not want to be out in this crowd any longer than I have to"

Wufei was beaten, he'd hoped that the Jurei hadn't remembered the conversation they had prior to him leaving in search of a vessel to take them back to the temple. He hated it when his friend's memory was so good. Sighing in defeat, the Shenlong child lowered his head slightly in respect, not wanting to draw any more attention to them than they were already getting and almost whispered "Your will Jurei"

-#-#-#-#-#-#-

Opening the bar door, sunlight poured into the pub, momentarily blinding those seated near the entrance and the pair leaving, A round of 'Close the door!' sounded from within as the pub's natural inhabitants, squinted and covered their eyes at the unexpected light.

Shielding his eyes as best as he could from the light, Duo swung his braid over his shoulder, internally wincing slightly as he heard the muffled "Duo!" from Trowa as the end of his braid smacked the quiet archer in the face. Turning around, the braided boy grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head "Sorry about that Tro, force of habit."

Seeing the annoyed gleam in his friends emerald eyes, Duo picked up his braid and held it protectively as he made his hasty retreat from the bar.

Skillfully evading the first three people, the braided thief forgot to put small children into his escape plan. Stumbling over the child, Duo lost his balance and did what any self-respecting person would do in that situation; he reached out for something to stabilize himself with. Tightly grabbing hold of his victim's clothing, the braided boy stumbled right into the person's surprised embrace.

"Duo?!" The braided thief heard being yelled again but this time in a more surprised gasp than that of someone who's just been smacked in the gob (1) with his mane. Blinking a few times in confusion, violet eyes met with startled blue "Hee-chan!"

Grinning from ear to ear, Duo threw his arms around the neck of the startled Jurei. The hug only lasted 0.5 of a second before his grip was prematurely removed from around Heero and he found himself meeting the ground in the end anyway.

Feeling the cool touch of metal against the skin of his neck, the second time in only a few days, Duo wiped the dust from his eyes as he stared up coldly at the figure hovering above him "And it's such a pleasure to see you again Wu-man"

Pressing the edge of his katana more firmly into the braided thief's neck, a thin trickle of blood pooled around the blade before running down the skin. Ignoring the slight wince in the violet eyes, his grip around the weapons hilt tightened as Wufei almost growled out "Did I not, the last time we met, say to you 'pray that we do not meet again'?"

Grasping Wufei's arm, Heero, with his other hand, gently covered Wufei's with his own, moving the weapon away from the Duo's neck "Enough Wufei, Maxwell meant no harm."

Glaring at the braided boy beneath him, the Shenlong child was silent for a moment before he sheathed his sword "Count yourself lucky that we are in a public area." Turning his back on Duo, he reached for the back of Heero's hood and placed it back over the Jurei's head before taking Heero's hand "Come now Yuy, we've got a lot of work ahead of us."

Another circlet! Duo's mind registered as he caught a brief glimpse of the gold metal and blue jewel around Heero's head before Wufei had covered it once more with the cloak's hood. 'What exactly is going on?' His thoughts raced, he was certain the jewel that was in Wufei's circlet was the one everyone was searching for but now that he's been faced with the knowledge that there are in fact two, he wasn't quite certain any longer that his assumption was correct.

Something kept nagging him in the back of his mind though, he knew he had to be right in at least the sense that both Heero and Wufei's appearance and all the talk about this missing jewel had to be connected somehow but he wasn't exactly sure just how that was. 'Damn it!' He inwardly cursed, he hated mysteries because no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, he had to solve them.... He couldn't help it, it was just second nature to him. And the mystery surrounding one Heero Yuy seemed to be getting more complex since they met only a few days back and oh how he loved to solve them.

"Hey wait!" Duo called out as he jumped up from the ground, ignoring the blood he ran to block Heero and Wufei's retreat as Trowa pushed his way through the gathering crowd "So.... Have you guys found a way to get back to Enlizer yet? Cause from what I've heard the shipping routs there have been barred until further notice"

'Does he not think us capable enough to find out such information on our own? And why does he continue to look at Yuy like that?!' The Shenlong child thought, narrowing his eyes as a flash of jealously sparked up within, Wufei had to fight the urge to grab his weapon and wipe the smirk from the other's face as he side stepped the braided thief "As a matter of fact we have, not that its any of your concern Maxwell."

Clutching his chest in a mock display, Duo finally took his attention of the blue eyed boy and looked at Wufei "I'm hurt Wu-man and here I was thinking we were becoming the best of buddies. So where are you and Hee-chan off to then, the docks in the other direction if you were planning on stealing a boat to get back."

"Stealing?" Wufei uncharacteristically spluttered out, the nerve of this annoyance! To even suggest that not only he but the Jurei steal something as well was unforgivable! His mouth opened, ready to give that braided thief a piece of his mind when, from out of the background, Heero stepped forward, gently laying a hand on his shoulder. That touch alone was enough to put a stop to his anger as he watched the Jurei step forward, smirking inwardly at the icy edge his Prussian eyes had gained. 

Seeing the vein in his friend's neck pulsating, a very bad sign for Wufei's barely suppressed anger, Heero inwardly winced at Duo's choice of words. Anything unjust and Wufei were never a good combination, not that he approved of stealing himself, not with the childhood they both grew up with. He had to do something or Wufei's mood would shift into ranting mode. Placing his hand on Wufei's shoulder as the Shenlong child was about to speak, Heero's eyes hardened as he tonelessly spoke "Thank you for your suggestion Duo but there are other ways that don't involve stealing."

He didn't expect that kind of reaction from the pair of them, besides he'd mostly been joking about the whole stealing thing 'Geesh, don't either of them know how to take a joke?' Looking between one icy glare to another, Duo let out a slight sigh 'I guess not' Plastering on a grin, the braided thief waved his hand "I was only joking, man you two need to lighten up. So what have you guy's got planned anyway?" He hoped that quick subject change would calm the situation and almost sighed in relief as the iciness slowly melted from Heero's Prussian eyes and the vein, though still throbbing, subsided somewhat along Wufei's neck.

"We would be happy to help you if you need it." Trowa's calm voice broke through the silence, gaining everyone's focus on the quiet archer "The city can be unforgiving for those new to it."

Inclining his head slightly in thanks, a slight smile appeared on Heero's lips as he replied "Thank you for the offer but we are not in need of any help, the only task that needs to be done is gathering supplies."

"You're in luck then!" Duo said beaming brightly at the two younger boys before him. Slinging an arm around Trowa's shoulder, the braided thief continued, "Tro here knows where to get all the best deals in the city"

Taking a quick glance to Heero, the Shenlong child looked back to the pair and inwardly growled 'they have been nothing but a bad influence on Yuy' Usually he would have rejected such an offer and he was just about too really, Wufei wanted nothing more to do with the troublesome pair. But... the gold they had for gaining the supplies was the temple's and not their own to spend and no matter how much he'd rather not be doing it, if there was anyway to cut the costs of what they had to buy, he'd do it since he owe it to G and the temple "Fine, I accept your offer."

Heero blinked in surprise, had he just heard Wufei correctly? He thought for sure his friend would knock back the offer. Looking between Duo and Wufei though, the Jurei inwardly winced as he caught sight of the looks being given between the two, he couldn't for the life of it figure out just why those two couldn't seem to get along. He couldn't let the two be together for too long though, what happened just previously was any indicator to how the two would get along "Then it's settled, Wufei will go with Trowa while Duo will accompany me" Seeing the confident smirk on Duo's lips and the deadly glare Wufei sent the braided boy, Heero began to wonder if he'd made the right decision after all.

-#-#-#-#-#-#-

Well before they stepped foot within the town they knew that they had arrived too late as they saw the clear blue sky tainted with the thick dark clouds of smoke. The thick smokes shadow casting the village into darkness as it rose up from what remained of a peaceful little farming town not far from the capitol of Sanq.

Hazy smog had settled over the small town as the troops were met with faint green flames as they licked the chard wooden skeletons of destroyed carts and homes. Many soldiers covered their mouths and noses as the smell of burnt flesh assaulted their senses, telling all that some if not all of the villagers did not escape whatever attacked the town.

Only the crackling of the flames and the creaking of the building remains were the only sounds that could be heard over the slight clanking of amour as the troop made their way deeper into the village. Falling to the ground as a charred beam finally gave way sending dirt and ash into the air surrounding the soldiers, one of the less experienced within the ranks jumped slightly as the obtrusive sound tore through the nervous silence of the town.

"Get a hold of yourself." One of the other soldiers quietly growled out as he sighted the unprofessional display.

Clutching at his chest as he spun around to meet his comrade, the pale soldier apologized "Sorry sir, it's just that this place is giving me the creeps, something's just not right"

Rolling his eyes sarcastically at the younger soldier, the graying man said "Oh you mean besides the fact that the entire town and its population were burnt to a crisp?" Turning his attention away from his younger comrade, his dark hazel eyes scanned the smoldering remains of the village as he added "But I think you are right about something not being right."

"Shut up back there, there might still be some more enemies around you fool!" The patrol leader harshly whispered from further up the formation, effectively silencing the two talking soldiers.

Before anyone knew what was happening, the remaining wall beside them exploded in pieces of burnt wood and straw as a red blur sped out from within and disappeared into the opposite building.

As the building fell in around the creature, it let out an ear-piercing shriek as it stood up in its hind legs, stretching its wings out on either side of its body. Its red scales glittered the colour of blood as what little sunlight penetrated the thick smoke shone down upon them. Falling back down onto all four of its legs, glowing green eyes burned with an unholy light as the creature turned and faced the soldiers.

In response, the soldiers automatically took a step back as each went for their swords and shields, holding them at the ready towards this unknown creature before them.

Folding its large wings back against its body, the creature stood there unmoving within the rubble almost as it were stone, watching them silently.

The soldiers all jumped slightly in union as the creature suddenly cocked its head to one side, absentmindedly snapping its jaws as it studied the men before it.

There was an almost serene atmosphere within the village as all living stood in absolute silence, that was soon broken though as the massive creature suddenly leapt forward, closing its powerful jaws around the closest human. Acting on instinct the remaining soldiers all rushed in with their weapons held high, ready to sink their blades through its scales and into the soft flesh within.

The scream emitting from the caught soldier was soon silenced as his now dead body dropped from the creature's jaws and fell lifelessly to the ground below.

Watching the demon tower over their troops, the squad leader barked out his order to attack before turning his attention to the runner standing out of harms way at the back of the group "Get the hell out of here! You need to get to Sanq and warn them of the demon!"

Knowing that the runner had already departed as he turned back to the battle, the commander swore loudly "Damn it!" as he caught sight of the ever-growing number of fatalities before rushing in to aid his comrades.

Dodging the deadly swipe of the creature's front claws as they past a mere millimeter over his head, the squad leader held his sword before him as he lunged towards the massive demon. The weapon though instead of sinking into the soft flesh, the blade hit the scales and slid off the hard surface without even so much as a scratch.

Another roar was emitted from the demon as it stood up on its hind legs, swinging not only its body but also its long spiked tail in the process. Those too slow to jump over the appendage as it sped by were knocked off their feet and thrown from battle.

Picking himself off the ground, the commander shook his head to clear his vision before reaching for his weapon once more. The sound of clanking amour from behind informed him of the secondary patrol's arrival as the group ran in to attack the creature.

Furious green eyes darted around the chaos wildly before sighting a lone figure, the runner, trying to escape the town unnoticed.

Knocking the soldiers on either side of it back a few meters, the creature spread its large wings, the demon let out another ear piercing screech as the fleshy insides of its mouth began to almost glow with a green light. Inhaling a deep breath, the demon fell back down onto all fours as it exhaled a brilliant green scorching flame from its mouth. Burning everything in its wake as it hurled down the street, the green flame diminished into nothing as it reached the village border.

Quickly disposing of the remaining soldiers surrounding it, the creature spread its large wings and took off into the sky.

Watching carefully as the ground sped past underneath, the red demon's mouth seemed to curve up into a vicious grin as it spotted its prey running below. Folding its wings against its body, the dragon demon fell from the sky rapidly towards its target.

Cursing his luck of there being nothing but open plains as far as the eye could see, the kingdom's runner prayed to any god listening for his safety as the large shadow covering his own continued to grow at an alarming speed.

Catching the runner between its hind claws as it swooped down, the demon snarled viciously as it crushed the human into the ground beneath it. Moving its head down to inspect the body, wisps of dirt puffed up as the dragon inhaled the humans scent. Satisfied that his kill was indeed dead, the demon stretched out its wings out once again and dropped the body held in its claws as it took off into the sky and headed towards the desert.

-#-#-#-#-#-#-

"Onii-chan!" The young girl squealed in delight as Elly ran up and threw her small arms around Heero's leg, hugging him tightly. "I've missed you!"

Looking down in amusement at the child, Heero couldn't help the slight smile appear on his lips "I've missed you also Elly, you remember Duo?"

Turning her attention up to the braided boy, Elly cheekily stuck her tongue out at him "Yeah I remember him," then grinned widely up at the Jurei "I want to show you something Onii-chan." Taking hold of Heero's hand, the little blonde ran through the church dragging Heero behind her.

Clenching his fist and shaking it angrily "Such a charming little girl, wish I have 3 just like her." Duo lightly growled as he watched her drag Heero to what ever the brat wanted to show him before following the pair.

Leading Heero outside, Elly took him over to where a box sat under a large tree. Reaching into the box, she pulled out a young kitten and beamed brightly "Look Onii-chan, isn't she cute! The priests found her yesterday and asked me to look after her for them, you can hold Hee-chan if you like"

Taking the offered kitten, the Jurei blinked a few times, absentmindedly patting the kitten's soft fur as he enquired "Hee-chan?"

Giggling behind her hand, Elly eye's lighting up with happiness as she explained "I named her after you Onii-chan"

"I think it's an adorable name" Duo said sitting beside Heero after finally catching up to the pair. Reaching out he gently ruffled the black and white kitten's fur before slinging an arm around the Jurei's shoulder, grinning widely "Isn't that right Hee-chan?"

Ignoring the braided boy, Heero handed the kitten back to Elly "I like the name, thank you... Elly, I have to leave the city tomorrow so this will be the last time we'll see each other." Short and too the point, that's what was needed in these situations, Heero only hoped that Elly wouldn't make too much of a fuss around it.

Gasping, the little blonde's voice trembled slightly "Leaving? Do you have to?"

Nodding his head, Heero reached out and gently patted her head "Yes I do, there is somewhere I need to be."

"I see." Elly knew she shouldn't be as upset as she was but couldn't help it, her onii-chan had helped her when she was injured and now that her parents were gone she had no one left.

The trio was silent for a moment before Elly's soft voice broke it, eyes sparkling as she clasped her hands in front of her "Ne onii-chan? Can I sleep with you tonight? Please?"

Blushing at Elly's choice of words, Heero ignored Duo's splutter next to him as he smiled softly "If the others allow it, I have no problem. I'm sure there is an extra room within the temple you could rest the night." Watching as the blonde child's face lit up at his answer, Heero watched her dash off in search of the church priests in amusement.

"So you going to tell me how you're planning on getting back to Enilzer?" Duo asked as he watched the blonde run off to tell the priests. He hadn't had time to question Heero on the way over to the church and since their arrival had been waiting for the little terror to leave the two in peace.

Lying down on the grass, looking up into the sky above, Heero watched the clouds slowly float past before his Prussian eyes drifted shut. It didn't surprise him in the least that Duo asked the question and somewhere inside he knew it would be asked. Why was it that the braided boy kept coming back into his life? He thought for sure he'd seen the last of Duo when he and Wufei left the forest and had to admit that a small part of him was glad that the braided boy was next to him. But even as he realized that thought, the reason for him wanting nothing to do with Duo came flooding back as the image of Shinigami flashed through his mind. Eye's flying open, he directed his gaze up to Duo and quietly replied "No."

Joining Heero on the grass, the braided boy lay down on his side, facing the Jurei. The light softly played across his pale skin, illuminating his beautiful Prussian eyes. The way his chocolate bangs gently blew across Heero's face from the wind, everything about the boy could be summed up in one single word... Perfect. His violet gaze roamed down then back up Heero's form, taking in ever detail it passed over "Care to tell me why not?"

"Because it is something you don't need to know." Was all Heero answered with, his heart beat increasing with speed as he felt Duo's gaze move over his body before he felt more than saw the figure next to him half sit up.

Placing one arm over the other side of Heero's body to stabilize himself, Duo gaze never wavered from Heero's as he leant down, softly brushing his lips over the Jurei's and spoke "Why are you always so cold to me?"

Heero was frozen to the spot, his heart raced and a shiver ran down his spine at the feel of Duo's lips lightly brushing against his own. He was trapped, wanting to move away even the slightest bit but he couldn't for the ground was directly under his head and Duo's lips were on his. Another shiver racked his body as he felt one of Duo's hands lightly caressing his sides, this was too much! He tried to speak, to tell the braided boy to get off but the feel of Duo's lips on his and the light caresses stopped any word even before they started.

A distant call of "Onii-chan" broke them apart as Duo jerked back and abruptly moved off of Heero, cursing certain children and their horrible timing as the braided thief watched Heero quickly scamper to his feet and almost jog over to where the blonde child came running around the corner.

-#-#-#-#-#-#-

The sky was a pale blue, dulled from the usual vivid colours of the grassy plains of the Sanq Kingdom as the sun shone down un-relentlessly upon the scorching desert below.

Heat waves rising up from the endless sand dunes caused the horizon to shimmer and waver in all directions. Far off in one distance, barely visible, was the outline of a large rock formation. Apart from that single feature, everything else was just an endless amount of sand dune after sand dune with the odd small rock formation here and there, nothing truly distinguishable.

From behind one of these said rock formations, a man covered from head to toe in cloth stuck his head out from beyond his hiding position, peering down to the flat area on the other side. Wiping the beads of sweat trickling down his brow, the man's sharp brown eyes scanned the area.

Sounds of chatter swarmed around the usually silent desert as from below his position, the man watched the thousands of armed soldiers as they sat in their own little groups speaking among themselves.

Leaning out a little further, he adjusted the light brown headpiece in an effort to get some fresh air to cool him down with. As he was doing so his brown eyes widened in surprise as he caught sight of more soldiers over the other side, these ones though were not human like the others though.

Standing on four legs these creatures half human, half feline, had the body like that of a Juda'kur, a large feline predator from the plains of the Sanq Kingdom. Instead of having the black fur like the Juda'kus, these creatures had a light brown coat for them to blend in with their surrounding desert environment. Their tail was long and slender with a slight puff of fur at the tip, the more fur at the tip, the older the creature was.

The front of the creature was like that of a human, it had a well defined chest with a fine layer of fur covering the skin to protect it from the harsh desert sun. Along with two powerful arms, the creature's hands were human like apart from the razor sharp claws where the fingernails should have been. Two eyes, amber in colour, were embedded within the creature's face which curved into a short snout and a mouth filled with sharp teeth. Its large ears adorned either side of the creature's skull, both almost completely hidden by the long shaggy brown main the fell down past its shoulder blades until it touched the tip of its back.

This creature was known to mankind as a Leo, the tribal race that inhabited the deserts between Sanq Kingdom and the Romafella Kingdom. Strong and powerful, the people of the Leo tribe were also fast and known to be extremely cunning in battle. Though they had the physical strength and the claws to aid them in battle, the Leo's were known to use double bladed weapons in a fight so expertly, that it was almost like an extension of their bodies.

'This isn't good if these rouges are powerful enough to enlist the help of the Leo's, there's no telling what they're capable of'

Pulling back into his hiding position, the scout reached into his front picket and pulled fess a small blank parchment and a single feather. From the pocket on the other side he produced a small vial filled with a thin black substance.

Before retreating back behind the rock, unusual movement on the far side of the encampment caught the scout's attention 'What on earth?'

Lowering himself further to the ground, the scout peered out from his hiding place once more as on the other side of the encampment he caught sight of two rows of Leo's pulling a long rope. Curiosity getting the better of him, the scout's gaze followed the line until it disappeared back down the other side of the dune but the back tip of something peaking out was enough to inform him that they were obviously dragging something closer to the encampment.

So engrossed in what he was watching, the scout failed to notice two figures approaching him from behind. Just as what looked like the beginnings of a large hoop began to show itself, the scout was harshly pulled from his position and thrown, face first, into the hot sand.

Coughing and spitting out the mouth full of sand, a sudden chill swept through his body as realization finally came to him 'Oh god'

As he was roughly pulled around to face his attackers, the scout had no time to even scream as he caught a glimpse of two silhouettes, each with long hair swaying in the breeze as the both simultaneously swung their double bladed weapons.

-#-#-#-#-#-#-

The moonlight reflected of the metal helm he wore as Zechs stood on the sand dune above the large army grouped below. Human soldiers and Leo's alike huddling together in squad formations as the final preparations were being made.

Sighting the sheer number of men at the Romafella's disposal, the blonde knew that the Sanq kingdom held no chance in surviving the coming invasion.

Movement to his side drew Zechs' attention away from the army below and to the approaching General Tsubaru. Hiding his dislike for the man, Zechs smiled pleasantly "Nice evening for an invasion wouldn't you say general?"

"Lord Treize has ordered for you to stay behind while we assault the Sanq kingdom to coordinate the troops from this position" Tsubaru sneered distastefully as he eyed the blonde man before him "and do try and not mess up the squad formations while you're at it, remember this is the Romafella Empire that's leading the attack"

Foreseeing the soldiers before him, Zechs ignored the rude remark as he replied "Very well, you will find that there will be nothing wrong at this end while I'm in command. Is the gate secure?"

Glaring at the blonde, Tsubaru turned his attention to the large black stone structure towering above the troops gathering near "The gate is ready for when it's needed"

"Good" Was the only response the blonde gave as his pale blue eyes took in the large structure and thought 'Not much longer now....'

-#-#-#-#-#-#-

_Lush emerald green grass swayed gently in the breeze as a soft wind blew over the tall stone walls, across the garden then continued its way throughout the long hallways within the palace. The shadows caused by the tree branches, danced across the features of a young child with messy brown hair and Prussian eyes as he lay there quietly on the grass._

_His companion, a boy slightly older than himself, lay next to him. His raven black hair was out of its usually tightly drawn ponytail and fanned out around his head almost like a halo as they both lay there staring up to the blue sky above._

_Upon each child's brow was a mark, though identical in placement; both were different to the other's. The one upon the forehead of the brown haired child was of a flame, coloured the same shade of blue as his eyes. While on the other child's brow was the design of a dragon, etched in black._

"_Yuy-san, what do you think that one looks like?" The raven-haired child asked as he pointed to one of the few white clouds floating in the sky._

_Following the line of direction the other was pointing in, Heero was quiet for a while until he finally answered "It looks like some sort of crab I think."_

_Onyx eyes tore themselves away from the sky and locked onto the boy next to him as Wufei challenged "Not it doesn't, it's quite obviously one of the mighty dragons of old."_

_Though his younger friend never replied, the slight smile and certain sparkle in the others Prussian eyes were enough to make the Shenlong child realize that he had obviously fallen into his friends trap. Huffing indignantly, Wufei turned his head stubbornly away from his friend as he growled out "Really Yuy, you would think that 'you' of all people would be above that sort of deceit" _

"_Gomen ne Wufei" Heero apologized with a smile on his face that, before a comfortable silence settled over the pair as they once again turned their attention to the sky._

_Another soft breeze made its way over the top of the stone walls, making its way through the palace gardens. Causing a few leaves to detach from their branches, carrying them across the gardens, dancing in perfect union with the wind before safely falling to the ground._

_Sliding his eyelids shut as the warm sunlight caressed his features, Heero took a deep breath of air before reopening his eyes as some faint sound drifted with the breeze._

_Sitting up from his position, Heero turned his head all directions in an attempt to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. _

_Sensing the movement beside him, Wufei lazily opened one eye to find his friend looking around as if in search of something "What is it Yuy?"_

"_Not sure" Heero replied almost absentmindedly, his attention still focused on finding where the sound, that he now recognized as screaming, was coming from "I think I hear someone screaming" He quietly announced._

_Openly alarm at the comment, Wufei leapt up from his position and crouched protectively in front of Heero as he concentrated only on hearing what his friend heard._

"_Do you hear it?" Heero asked quietly as he stood up from the ground and took a few steps in front of Wufei, his child body had been replaced by his older self._

_When no answer was forthcoming, the Jurei spun on his heels, ready to ask the question again, but the Shenlong child, along with the gardens had disappeared._

_Where once lush grass and tall trees grew, now stood what looked to be the ruins of a great city. Buildings had almost completely crumbled to the ground, fires burnt out of control, eating their way throughout the cities remains. What could been seen of the paved road beneath all the fallen debris, was transformed into a river of blood, though no single body could be found._

_Arrows stuck out of the wooden frame works of burnt out carts littering the road, as the Jurei slowly began to make his way further into the destroyed city. Blinking a few times as he took it all in, Heero was stunned into silence as his body acted on autopilot and began making its way deeper into the dead city._

_Turning a corner, the young Jurei was met with a large square, totally devoid of any life, even the plants that once surrounded the cities central square had withered and died. Right in the middle of the square stood an unknown structure, its height easily matching the three story buildings, which lined the square._

_Four pillars were situated at each corner of the structure, writing written in an almost glowing red substance ran down along each of the dark grey stone pillars, the language for once in his life was undecipherable and unknown to the Jurei. Hovering just above each pillar was a large diamond shaped crystal, slowly turning as a soft hum came from each one._

_In between each pillar, on all four sides, dark stoned steps made their way up to the main focal point of the entire structure, a large grey stone hoop._

_The writing along each pillar began to glow a bright red shortly before each crystal began to emit an almost blinding white light._

_Robed figures faded in from out of no where all around the tall structure, all bent down on the ground chanting softly at the area within the dark grey hoop began to waver then ripple as the image behind began to distort. The grey, browns and red's of the buildings and fire behind all swirled around each other, mixing together until slowly what use to be a horrible kaleidoscope of colours, transformed into soft purples and blue's._

_Like looking into a still pond after dropping a pebble into its very centre, the blue, purplish liquid substance continually rippled out from the centre right to the stone circles edge in an endless cycle._

_The robed men parted from their positions in union, leaving a trail right up to the portal free from any objects as the faint sounds of sobbing caught the young Jurei's attention._

_Heero pushed down the feeling of dread that began filling him as he slowly turned away from the portal and back to the street he'd just emerged from. The sobs continued to grow louder, slowly draining out the chanting that was still going on around him._

_Unbeknownst to the Jurei, a single tear trailed down his cheek as from out of the shadows, line after line, emerged invisible figures, each draped from head to toe in a white cloth. Upon each face was the mask of tenbinza the damned. This mask was white and oval in shape, the only mark upon the mask were black lips painted open and curving down, representing the suffering of those who are damned._

_Apart from the occasional sob, the clothed figures silently made their way towards the portal, unmindful of anything else going on around them._

"_Beautiful isn't it?" A voice whispered from behind "Their suffering, their despair, the hopelessness of the fate of those who are condemned to die"  
_

_Slowly turning around, the young Jurei was met with intense amber eyes, embedded within ......._

_Taking a step back, Heero narrowed his eyes in hatred as he asked "You're the Akujin?"_

_The creature before him grinned devilishly, displaying the razor sharp teeth within as he replied "I may have been called that once or twice in the past, but that is not my name dear Jurei"_

"_Then what is it?" The Jurei demanded as he took yet another step away from the demon before him._

_Leaning down the Akujin brushed its thin lips lightly over the Jurei's ear lob as it huskily whispered "You already know it" Smirking inwardly as it felt the shudder pass through Heero's body._

_With lightning fast reflexes, the demon's claws sped out and clasped its fingers around Heero's torso, pulling the Jurei possessively back towards him as the demon hissed "You will not escape me this time my dear Jurei, you're mine!"_

_Heero struggled against the Akujin's tight grip "No!" The Prussian eyed boy cried out, pushing his hands against the creature's chest in a desperate measure. Hissing in pain, a bright white light engulfed the demon as the dead city surrounding the Jurei and the Akujin shattered into a million pieces._

_Wild flowers swayed softly in the breeze as a group of children played a friendly game of tag between themselves._

_Ducking low in the long grass the smallest boy, one with messy chocolate hair and deep Prussian eyes, covered his mouth with his hands in an attempt to stop the giggle that threatened to escape._

_At the sound of a light thud followed by a whiny "Ow" the Prussian eyes child's head popped up above the tall grass to see what had happened._

_All enjoyment of the game vanished as the boy found one of his playmates on the ground, sobbing quietly as he nursed his bleeding arm._

_Walking over to his fallen friend, the Prussian eyed boy knelt down and smiled softly at the other as he carefully took the injured arm into his grasp and quietly spoke "Don't cry, I'll make it better" The only reply from the raven haired child was the pitiful nod of his head._

_The wound healed quickly under Prussian eyed child's grasp as a white glow emanated from his hand. Seeing that his work was done, the chocolate haired child smiled brightly as he stood up with his friend and together they went back to playing the game of tag._

_Movement on the horizon though caught the Prussian eyed child's attention as he stopped dead in his tracks in order to see what it was._

"_What's wrong Hee-chan?" A boy a few years older than himself asked in concern as he came running over to stand beside his smaller friend._

_Keeping his eyes on the figure gradually getting larger, Heero pointed at the dark silhouette as he replied "Look"_

_Just as that word left his mouth, the shadowed figure disappeared from sight only to reappear before the pair._

_Laughing loudly enough to gain the attention of all the others, the figure's amber eyes blazed angrily as darkness shot out, physically knocking the longhaired boy out of the way "You can not escape me Jurei, you belong to ME!"_

"_No" The chocolate haired boy whispered before crying out in pain as flashbacks of the dead city came flooding back to him. _

_The shadowy like claws extended from the darkness consuming the figure as the creature caught the boy's falling body, bringing the Jurei back into its own as it's other clawed hand softly caressed the boy's soft cheek Leaning down so then they were face to face, the creature whispered "You can never escape me my dear Jurei"_

_Just as the creature closed the gap between them, a silver sword with writing etched in pure gold came between the two._

_Bright amber eyes looked up at the intruder and darkened in rage as the darkness faded away to reveal the vile creature beneath "Shinigami!" _

_Pointing his weapon at his opponent's neck, Shinigami calmly demanded "Release the Jurei"_

_Pained Prussian eyes fluttered open and looked up at his dark armored savior as his whole body trembled with fear as the cold arms firmly around him, slackened slightly then released their hold._

_Not turning his attention away from the enemy, Shinigami spoke once again "Come to me my little Jurei"_

_Almost tripping over himself in his haste, the young child quickly dashed behind his protector then carefully peered out to see how this would unfold._

_Staring at the God of Death in complete loathing, the dark creature hissed in anger "You dare to come between us once again?!" Trembling violently in anger, the Akujin shrilled loudly as it threw both of its hands out to the side._

_Instantly on one side an angry red flame shot up from the soil, while on the demon's other side a large ball of water appeared out of thin air. Both elements somehow seemed to cry out in anger before hurling themselves at Shinigami._

_Feeling his protectors arms wrap around his waist, Heero only had a moment to register the feeling before he was pulled in close to the amour-clad body and a black light surrounded the pair._

_Reappearing a few meters away from where they were, small hands flew up to cover his ears as a loud explosion was heard. Once the noise faded away, a single Prussian eye cracked open to see nothing but ash where they were once standing._

_As the breeze began flowing again, the young Jurei's eyes darted around to see if he's friends were safe. Gasping in surprise, Heero's eyes widened as instead of finding his friends he found four featureless figures fighting against each element. Feeling Shinigami's presence leave him, the young child looked around fearfully before finding his amour clad protector engaged in a battle against the Akujin._

_The ground beneath them trembled randomly as each group battled their opponents; feeling overwhelmed by the situation the boy fell to his knees, tears brimming in his Prussian eyes as he saw one of the figures getting knocked down by the fire element._

_Suddenly the remaining figure battling against the red flame flared up in flames of purple as it lunged towards the element, slicing the red flame in two as it easily flew through. The fire element screamed out in pain, causing the water element to halt its assault and race over to the other's position, both crashing into the other in a bright display of blue and red before melding together into a light green color._

_The new green element had the same shape as the water element but wavered and flickered like that of the flame one. The green ball seemed to rush around the area excitedly before spinning around on the spot and resuming its battle with the four featureless figures._

_A loud screeching noise drew the boy's attention away from that battle and to the one still going on between Shinigami and the amber eyed Akujin._

_The dark creature was kneeling on the ground clutching at its stomach as a black substance oozed over and between its claws. Shrieking in anger once again, the dark creature shot off a blinding yellow light towards Shinigami before disappearing from sight._

_The light made contact with the black amour, sending the God of Death hurling back through the air, his weapon flying out of his grasp along the way._

_A scream tore itself from the young Jurei's throat as he watched Shinigami's body collide into that of a far away tree before the world around him exploded in a brilliant white light._

"No!" Heero yelled as he instantly sat up in his bed. Panting heavily the slight gold glow fading rapidly from his body went unnoticed as he covered his face with his hand and closed his eyes, attempting to calm his racing heart and get his breathing under control.

It only took a few seconds after that before the Jurei got the feeling he was being watched. Grabbing the dagger hidden beneath his pillow, Heero jumped into a crouched position on the bed, holding the weapon out before him as he demanded "Who's there? Show yourself!"

A tall figure materialized from the shadows not a moment later, amour clanking quietly as he stepped out "You were dreaming." The figure stated.

It only took a second for Heero to recognize the voice. Relaxing his guard, the Jurei lowered his weapon and placed it back underneath the pillow.

"Shinigami." Heero greeted as he sat down cross-legged on the mattress, watching as the armored God of Death walked over to the bed's edge.

Removing the red horned helm, Shinigami's long blonde hair fell down around his shoulders and along his back as he regarded the Jurei carefully, his eyes closed the entire time "Time grows short and danger nears dear Jurei, you need to leave this city before you too are damned right alongside its people."

"Damned?! What's going to happen?" Heero asked in open alarm as his Prussian eyes widened in surprise. When Shinigami remained silent, anger replaced alarm as Heero growled out "Tell me!"

Instead of answering though, Shinigami cryptically warned "By the night of the new moon, death will come to claim this city. You must leave before it arrives little Jurei."

Thinking over what was said, Heero's face paled when realization finally hit him "By the new moon! But that's tomorrow night!"

"You have been warned, I can do no more than that." Replacing the helm back upon his head, Shinigami disappeared within a black light. But his exit went unnoticed by the room's single occupant as he sat there silently, thinking over what had just been said.

-#-#-#-#-#-#-

The waning crescent moon was well on its way down for the night, giving way to the new day as the horizon over the opposite side began to turn pink.

Night creatures were finishing up their hunting and were beginning to return to their homes as the first of the morning birds began to sing.

There on the vast ocean's edge a city slept in peace, the torches lit within the guard posts at each gate and each corner of the expansive wall giving off less light as the sun began to peek above the horizon.

Shifting the lance over to his other hand as he repositioned himself, one of the guards yawned softly as he said "Only an hour more to go until shift change, I can't wait my feet are killing me."

Looking over his shoulder at his partner, the other replied "I know what you mean, night watch bores the hell out of me." Turning his attention back out to the plains, he emitted a sigh before quietly adding "Nothing exciting ever happens."

Wondering about the sudden silence of his friend, the guard turned around just in time to see his partner drop lifeless to the floor, shortly before a black figure leapt towards him and a pain erupted within his chest.

The lance dropped to the floor with a clatter as it hit the stone. Bringing his hands up to inspect his chest, looking down, a trail of blood dribbled down his chin as he caught sight of his armored uniform rapidly turning red before all went back and he slumped to the floor lifeless.

Straightening himself up from his position, a figure dressed entirely in black walked over to the burning torches. Pulling a water canister free from his belt, the unknown figure unscrewed the cap before pouring its contents over the flames, dousing the fire.

Looking towards the other outposts, the corner of the figure's eyes crinkled up in a silent joy as he watched the other flames, one by one also being put out. Pulling out a small rose etched pendant from his pocket, the figure quietly muttered a few words while making small hand gestures in the air before him. The area before the man shifted and distorted as a small rift appeared, the dark silhouette of another appearing on the rifts other side. Bowing his head in respect he spoke to the other "Preparations complete Lord Treize, the last of the sentries have been taken out"

From beyond the rift, Trieze leaned forward, his calm blue eyes regarding the scout "I will inform our forces of your success, they should be ready to move within the hour."

TBC

Gob is another word used for Jaw for any of you who didn't know what it meant

A/N: Sorry I took so long to get this chapter out, I was aiming at writing around 5000 words but as you can see..... I kind of went over that limit -grins sheepishly- but long chapters are always good ne? -giggles then sighs sadly- I got the dreaded writer's block while I was writing most of this chapter which is one of the reasons why it took so long. Gomen nasai minna-chan.

Going to be working on the next MoT chapter now, already typed up the beginning of it so that's something ne? hehe so who will win the battle there? Nobody knows well... I know and maybe Ashly-chan and Yume-chan do... but even then I'm thinking of changing my mind so even they won't know, and now I'm just rambling on, cause I'm good at that –snickers-

Mehehe and a big thank you to Ashly, CuriousDreamWeaver, Pink Cherry Blossom, Star Dragonsong, NightHawk, Kyra, Maxine, Kitsunes Shinigami, Skeren Dreamera, The **Chaotic Ones **(Duo and Heero will eventually become a couple, but it wont be for a few more chapters yet -winks-) , kt, venom, and to **kuraimoon **(you will have to wait to see what happens with Duo but you don't have to worry I've got plans for the braided baka) for your reviews and gomen nasai mina-san that it's taken me this long to get this chapter out, I hope its length makes up for the delay...


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